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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115309">This Divide</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen'>bansheequeen (queenbanshee)</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian'>xtremeroswellian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Smallville</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Clark Kent is a jerk, Confrontations, F/M, Gen, Green Kryptonite, Hurt Oliver, Kandorian war, Kandorians - Freeform, Lois Finds Out, Mindwipe, Red Kryptonite, Self-Defense, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:41:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,793</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115309</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All hell breaks loose when the Kandorians gain their powers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lois Lane &amp; Chloe Sullivan, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Oliver looked around the crowded room and sighed inwardly. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to let Tess convince him that he needed to take part in this whole mess. It was about as far from his scene as it could be, even if the rest of the world didn’t know it. Although on the other hand, it was at least for a good cause. </p>
<p>The whole thing had been the red-head’s idea. She wanted to start a LuthorCorp sponsored reading program that would help children and adults of all ages learn how to read, and to increase their reading comprehension ability. So she’d decided to throw a charity ball. </p>
<p>And right in the midst of said charity ball, there was going to be a bachelor auction to help raise funds for her cause. </p>
<p>She’d informed him he’d be participating because he <i>owed</i> her for screwing things up over the past several months and nearly tanking their profits along with their reputation. </p>
<p>She’d even gone so far as to send him a tuxedo that she’d deemed suitable for the night.</p>
<p>His jaw tightened a little as he looked down at it. Granted, he looked great--that was pretty much always a given--but it was the idea that she felt she had the right to dictate what he wore simply because he’d screwed up. </p>
<p>So the screw up had been fairly massive. </p>
<p>He’d learned his lesson. And that hadn’t come from Tess. </p>
<p>No, that lesson had come from another teacher. </p>
<p>A more petite, blonde teacher that was always on his mind these days. He chewed the inside of his cheek and glanced around, loosening his bow tie just a little and then moving to get a glass of chardonnay. It wasn’t his drink of choice, but he was avoiding the hard liquor in mass abundance these days. </p>
<p>Because he had a feeling if he didn’t, Chloe actually would let a truck run his ass over this time. Considering she’d done what she had out of concern and friendship--he didn’t want to see what she might do if she was truly <i>pissed</i> at him. </p>
<p>Their relationship--<i>she’d kill him if she knew he thought of it that way</i>--was about as complicated as it could get. Co-workers, friends and now lovers--no. Not lovers. <i>Friends with benefits.</i></p>
<p>Oliver sighed softly and drank the alcohol, making a face. He’d never liked chardonnay that much. </p>
<p>Chloe had been invited to the ball, of course, by Oliver himself. And had declined. </p>
<p>Things were already getting messy between the two of them and the last thing she needed was to have their picture in front of every tabloid in the country with a caption calling her his date, fling, or whatever else.</p>
<p>Outside the bedroom, or wherever else they decided had a firm enough surface they managed to find that specific time, their relationship was strictly professional. </p>
<p>And she had planned on sticking with that answer and working while he attended the party. But then her cousin decided to call her and tell her all about the auction and Tess’s plan to auction off a night with Oliver Queen and before she could stop herself, she had changed and was in a cab toward the Metropolitan, where the gala was being held. </p>
<p>Ignoring the knots in her stomach, she made her way inside and took a deep breath, trying not to think about the part where the idea of Oliver going on a date with someone else, even if it was for charity, bothered her so much. </p>
<p>He glanced around the place once more and then froze when his eyes landed on her. Dressed in a pretty electric blue dress that left enough to the imagination that would peak any normal guy’s interest, she stood just inside the room looking around uncertainly. He’d asked her to come. Of course he’d asked her to come. There wasn’t anyone he’d <i>rather</i> be spending the evening with and he was starting to grow frustrated with all the rules and barriers she kept throwing between them. </p>
<p>But she’d shown up. So maybe, just maybe, things were starting to look up. </p>
<p>Smiling, he slowly made his way over to her, gaze sweeping over her form in appreciation. “Hello.” His voice was a little lower than usual. </p>
<p>Chloe stilled and arched her eyebrows, holding her breath as she turned toward him, wishing she had seen before he’d seen her, “hi.” </p>
<p>“You look gorgeous,” he said honestly.</p>
<p>She stared at him for a moment. “So do you,” she told him, her eyes going over him then back at his face.</p>
<p>A knowing smirk touched his mouth involuntarily. “Did you just eye me like a piece of meat?” he teased. </p>
<p>Chloe paused and straightened a little, “well, I heard you were going to be sold like one tonight.”</p>
<p>He groaned softly at that. “Yeah, don’t remind me.” </p>
<p>“Not thrilled by this?” She asked, arching her eyebrows. </p>
<p>“Let’s just say it wasn’t my idea.” </p>
<p>She squinted slightly at that then stilled, “Tess?”</p>
<p>“Good guess,” he acknowledged with a slight nod. “She says I still owe her for before.” </p>
<p>Her jaw tightened just slightly, “before?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you know.” He shrugged a little, glancing around uncomfortably. “When I was on my bender and nearly tanked the company.” </p>
<p>Chloe blew out her breath slowly and nodded. Right, that. Not about their former relationship. “I guess that makes sense.”</p>
<p>He made a face. “I think you’re supposed to be on my side here.” </p>
<p>“You do know you’re her boss, right? And not the other way around?” She pointed out. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sighed. “Guilt?” </p>
<p>“I don’t see why you would feel guilty,” she said then shrugged a little, “but I guess it’s too late for you to back out now,” she told him, glancing at the side of the stage as Tess was staring right at them. </p>
<p>Oliver grimaced as he followed her gaze back to where Tess was standing, then back at Chloe. “At least you being here will make this whole thing more bearable.” </p>
<p>She arched her eyebrows a little at that, “good luck,” she told him, stopping herself from crossing her arms over her chest. </p>
<p>He frowned a little. “That’s it?” </p>
<p>“Yeah?” She told him, a little unsure.</p>
<p>Oliver was silent for a moment. “Yeah. Right. Okay.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I guess I’ll see you when it’s over?” </p>
<p>“I guess so,” she told him, pursing her lips together to stop herself from making a remark about him being too busy with his <i>date</i>.</p>
<p>“Are you all right?” He cocked his head, studying her intently.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” she told him, taking a deep breath, “but I think Tess is waiting for you.” </p>
<p>He rolled his eyes at that. “She should know by now that my repertoire requires me to be fashionably late.” </p>
<p>“You mentioned you owe her, right? Maybe you should just get it over with.” She suggested, arching her eyebrows.</p>
<p>Oliver frowned a little, then sighed softly. “Yeah. All right. See you later,” he said quietly.</p>
<p>Chloe watched him go then sighed deeply, reaching for a glass of champagne on a passing tray and taking a long sip of it.</p>
<p>* * * </p>
<p><i>How the hell did I let Tess talk me into this?</i> he wondered for the hundredth time as he looked around the crowded gala. She’d started the bidding out at $250. He made a way better dinner date than that measly amount of money. He glanced around, waving and flashing his best charming smile--even though it was his best <i>fake</i> smile--and looked for Chloe. </p>
<p>She was probably laughing at him in the corner somewhere.</p>
<p>He was right about the corner part, but she wasn’t laughing. They had gone through four auctions already, it had taken forever. And now it was finally <i>his</i> turn. She had lost the count on how many passing glasses of champagne and wine she had picked up, and she hadn’t missed the way the women just pushed their way closer to the stage when his turn started. </p>
<p>It was up to five hundred already. Make that six. And her jaw tightened with every single bid. She had no idea why she was still there, torturing herself. It wasn’t like <i>she</i> could bid on him. Even with how well he paid her, there was no way she could outbid those barbies. And she shouldn’t, because this shouldn’t bother her.</p>
<p>His eyes finally located her in the crowd, and sure enough, she was in the corner. And she didn’t look amused. He raised his eyebrows just a little, scanning the crowd near her and wondering if someone had said something to upset her.</p>
<p>She didn’t notice that he was looking at her. Instead, she finished her glass and pushed herself off the wall, walking straight toward the mass of women staring up at him like a piece of meat. Her jaw tight.</p>
<p>The smile slipped from his face as he watched her approach, confusion flickering over his expression. Usually when one of the Sullivan-Lane women got that look on their face, he wound up getting smacked across the face. </p>
<p>With a deep breath, she reached for a pad and before she could stop herself, lifted it and said “a thousand dollars,” loudly since she was still behind most of the crowd.</p>
<p>Oliver’s eyes widened at that and his eyebrows shot up. He wondered momentarily if he had just imagined that, or if Chloe Sullivan had just bid a <i>thousand</i> dollars for a <i>date</i>. With <i>him</i>.</p>
<p>She stilled when most of the room turned to look at her, and more importantly, Oliver. Her jaw tightened a little as she looked at him, but didn’t miss the fact that Tess was also staring in her direction. She looked at the red head and held her gaze then straightened, arching her eyebrows at the other woman called the bid to her number with a smirk on her face. Now she just couldn’t back down.</p>
<p>He blinked and turned his head to stare at Tess in disbelief when she bid $1500 on him. </p>
<p><i>What the hell did I drink before bed?</i> he wondered. </p>
<p>Chloe stared back at Tess and smirked, “two thousand,” in the back of her head, she knew that raising auctions by that much was a stupid idea, but at the moment, she didn’t care.</p>
<p>“Three thousand,” Tess responded with a smirk of her own.</p>
<p>Pushing her way through the crowd, Chloe kept her eyes on Tess and her bidding pad held up, “five thousand,” she said without even blinking.</p>
<p>The red-head’s eyes narrowed. “Seven thousand,” she shot back, her smirk turning into a glare. </p>
<p>Oliver couldn’t help but wonder what planet he’d landed on. Maybe Zod had already killed them all and this was some weird after-life experience.</p>
<p>“Ten thousand,” Chloe rounded up, staring at Tess daringly, not even noticing that the rest of the room was now silent.</p>
<p>“You do realize you actually have to <i>pay</i> if you win the bid, right, Ms. Sullivan?” Tess cocked an eyebrow at her. </p>
<p>Her jaw tightened even more and she pushed her way to the very front of the stage, “I’m not worried about funds, Tess.” She told her, not looking at Oliver. They did have an argument about her taking his money just a couple weeks ago, but at least this time, she was letting him know. Kind of. “Are we done here?”</p>
<p>“Sold,” Oliver spoke up, raising his eyebrows, his brown eyes a shade darker than normal as he gazed intently at Chloe from the stage. </p>
<p>Tess smirked at her. “You can have him. He’s not worth <i>that</i> much.” </p>
<p>“Why am I not surprised that you completely miss the point of <i>charity</i>?” Chloe asked, smirking at the other woman then turning to look at Oliver, stilling when she saw the look in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Good luck paying off the debt, Chloe.” There was amusement in Tess’s voice before she lifted her glass and headed away. </p>
<p>Chloe paused once more, her stomach tightening as it dawned on her that she had just spent more than what her car was worth on a date with Oliver, the man who she was already sleeping with <i>anyway</i>.</p>
<p>He slowly descended the stairs til he was right in front of her, taking note of her suddenly dazed expression. “Well. I’m all yours, Gorgeous. The question is, what do you plan to do with me?” </p>
<p>Blinking, she focused on him again and arched her eyebrows a little, “let’s just get out of here.” She said under her breath.</p>
<p>Oliver couldn’t help but smile just a little. “Sounds like a plan to me.” </p>
<p>She looked away then back at him. “Do I have to give her the money now?” She asked, her head still spinning even as she did her best to keep her voice firm.</p>
<p>He pursed his lips, shaking his head a little. “No. You can pay tomorrow.” And he had a feeling that she would. </p>
<p>“Good.” She breathed, relaxing slightly. That gave her some time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As much as Chloe didn’t want to waste time or draw even more attention to herself or <i>them</i> together, they had no choice as people kept stopping Oliver on their way out to congratulate him on the event  and her on the winning bid. </p><p>She tried her best to keep herself together and not let him notice she wasn’t exactly sober, but with the way he had his hand on her back, she had a feeling it was too late for that. </p><p>Eventually, they did manage to make their way out of the ballroom, this time through a side door and not the entrance, her jaw was tight as she focused on walking and not on how the hell she was going to afford this, afford <i>him</i>. “Did you drive here?”</p><p>“Yes,”  he said, his voice quiet and close to her ear. “Did you?” Because there was no way she was getting behind the wheel of a car as drunk as she was.</p><p>“No,” she shivered, turning to look toward him, their faces close.</p><p>“Good,”  he said, meeting her eyes for a moment and then pressing a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth.</p><p>She started to turn her head to kiss him then pulled away, her eyes widening, “Oliver,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder.</p><p>He arched his eyebrows. “Chloe.” </p><p>“Someone might come,” she said tightly, turning to look up at him again.</p><p>“So let them,” he said simply.</p><p>“Are you <i>insane</i>?” She asked, eyes widening as she waved a hand back toward the ballroom, “like that wasn’t bad enough.”</p><p>“Chloe, you realize you just bid <i>ten thousand</i> dollars to go on a date with me, right?” He bit the inside of his cheek.</p><p>“I was making a point,” she said without thinking then straightened, “and it was for charity.” She added quickly.</p><p>He narrowed his eyes at her. “Your point being what, exactly?” He folded his arms across his chest.</p><p>“You saw Tess!” She told him, her jaw clenching, then shook her head, “let’s just leave.”</p><p>“You bid on me before she did,” he countered. </p><p>“Yeah, well, like I said, it was for charity,” she told him stubbornly and crossed her arms over her chest.</p><p>Oliver moved closer to her, closing the tiny amount of space that was between them and searching her eyes, his own intense. “Was it?” </p><p>Her face fell for a moment but then she straightened, “if Tess had won, would you be doing this too?”</p><p>He flinched as if she’d hit him across the face. “<i>What?</i>” </p><p>“Answer the question,” she demanded, eyes narrowing as she glared up at him.</p><p>“Are you <i>kidding</i> me right now?” His voice dropped, low and dangerous.</p><p>She just stared at him for a moment longer then pushed her way past him, “drive me back to the Watchtower.” She told him.</p><p>He reached out, catching her arm with one hand and holding onto it. “Look at me.” </p><p>“No,” she told him as she turned to look at him again. “I won, didn’t I? I want you to take me back.” </p><p>He shook his head, moving closer to her and not letting her go. “Tell me why you bid on me. Why you <i>really</i> bid on me. And don’t give me some garbage about trying to prove a point to Tess Mercer.” </p><p>Chloe stared at him for a long moment, jaw tight, “because I <i>felt</i> like it,” she told him, shaking her head, “because I’m drunk. I don’t <i>know</i> why.” She lied, jaw tight, “happy?”</p><p>“You might be drunk, but you’re still a nervous liar,” he informed her, letting go of her arm and pulling his keys from his pocket.</p><p>She took a deep breath and pulled away from him, glancing around the spotting his SUV and making her way to the passenger’s side. </p><p>Oliver slid behind the wheel of the driver’s seat and glanced at her sideways, reaching across her and pulling the seatbelt over her, locking it into place, his mouth lingering a couple of inches from hers. </p><p>Chloe held her breath and stared down at his lips but pressed herself against the seat and reached for the seatbelt, to take it away from him, “I got it.”</p><p>“You’re not the only one,” he murmured, his breath warm against her cheek.</p><p>As much as she tried to focus on his words, she held her breath and turned her head toward him, her entire body already affected just by how close he was, “what do you want?” She asked in a whisper.</p><p>He licked his mouth without thinking about it, then leaned in, kissing her once more, this time full on the lips. She made a quiet noise as she lifted her head and kissed him back, letting go of the seatbelt so she could lift her hands to his arms.</p><p>After a long moment, he reluctantly pulled away, searching her eyes. Chloe took a deep breath and looked up at him, her eyes a little wide. </p><p>“Let’s get you home.” He sat forward in the driver’s seat and turned the key, starting the engine.</p><p>She let out her breath and shook her head a little then pulled on the seatbelt once more and buckled it. Sometimes, it was really frustrating how easily he got to her.</p><p>* * * </p><p>Oliver stopped the SUV in front of the clock tower and shut the engine off. He undid his seatbelt, and then undid Chloe’s wordlessly, as well. </p><p>Chloe paused when he parked, she had noticed he was going toward the Clocktower rather than the Watchtower, but they were only a couple of blocks apart, so she didn’t think much of it. But when he actually stopped, she sat up, “what are you doing?”</p><p>“Parking the car,” he responded, cocking an eyebrow at her and opening his door.</p><p>“I asked you to take me to the Watchtower.” She told him, not moving. </p><p>“I asked why you bid ten thousand dollars on me. Let’s call it even.” He smirked and climbed out of the vehicle, shutting the driver’s side door.</p><p>“Fine,” she clenched her jaw and unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car then slammed the door and started walking out of the garage. </p><p>He stopped her by stepping in front of her. “Come on, Chloe. You need to get some sleep.” </p><p>“I’m not staying here, Oliver.” She said stubbornly. “I asked you to take me over there, if you can’t, I will walk.” </p><p>His eyes narrowed. “There’s nothing to do at Watchtower tonight,” he pointed out. “I’m not out patrolling and Clark and Lois are on some getaway.” </p><p>“Well I’m not driving back to Smallville and I’m not spending the night <i>here</i>, so I’m going back to Watchtower.” She told him, arching her eyebrows. </p><p>“There isn’t even a <i>bed</i> at Watchtower.” </p><p>“I’ll be fine,” she told him, staring up at him.</p><p>He stared back at her. “Why are you doing this?” </p><p>“Why are <i>you</i>?” She asked, “I’m not staying, Oliver.” </p><p>“Why not?” he asked, shaking his head as he took a step toward her. “What are you so damn afraid of, Chloe?” </p><p>“I’m not afraid of anything,” she lied, staring up at him, “what is so hard for you to understand that I’m not comfortable with spending the night here?” Especially tonight. </p><p>“You’re lying again.” </p><p>“What do you want, Oliver?” She asked, staring up at him. </p><p>He closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. “You,” he said simply.</p><p>Her stomach clenched and she shook her head, “stop.” </p><p>“I can’t,” he said softly, searching her eyes. </p><p>“Yes, you can,” she told him again, “you know what we agreed on.” </p><p>“I do,” he said, nodding. “I also know you broke the rules first.” </p><p>Her eyes widened at that, “what the hell are you talking about?”</p><p>Oliver raised his eyebrows. “The whole no dating, no being public about us, etc.?” </p><p>“<i>That</i>,” she said tightly, “was not a real date, Oliver. And it doesn’t matter because we’re not going anywhere.”</p><p>“Not tonight, no,” he agreed. “You’re way too drunk for that.” </p><p>“I’m fine. And this is my choice.” She told him, arching her eyebrows. “I’m leaving.”</p><p>“Why? Why are <i>you</i> the only one who gets a choice in anything?” he demanded.</p><p>“I’m paying, aren’t I?” She asked coldly. </p><p>Oliver flinched at that, dropping his hands away from her. </p><p>Her chest tightened and she stared at him for a moment then took a deep breath and walked past him toward the exit. </p><p>He didn’t attempt to stop her this time. He didn’t even turn to watch her walk away. He just stood by the passenger side of his car for a long moment, then slowly headed toward the elevator, feeling like she’d punched him in the gut.</p><p>* * *</p><p>She didn’t really sleep. She might have nodded off a couple of times in front of the computer, but she didn’t lay down. She had spent the night transferring her money around and figuring out how to pay her debt. Luckily, the amount wasn’t  horribly high and with the account her dad had set up for the college funds she’d never used because of her scholarship, plus some savings she’d been keeping since she started as Watchtower, she’d managed to get it all together. </p><p>As soon as it past eight, she showered, changed, picked up her check and started toward the Planet. Not stopping until she was outside of Tess Mercer’s office. She took a deep breath then stepped inside, not surprised to see the woman was already there.</p><p>Tess raised an eyebrow. “Chloe.” There was a hint of amusement in her tone.</p><p>“Tess,” she greeted, smirking, “I thought I’d find you here.” </p><p>“Well, I do own the place.” She smirked back at the blond.</p><p>“Once you stole it from the Luthors, I suppose you do.” She smiled, stepping further into the office. </p><p>Tess laughed softly. “You seem to have forgotten that when Lex died, he willed <i>everything</i> to me.” She cocked her head to the side, watching Chloe. “What is it that you want?” </p><p>“I am completely uninterested in your business dealings,” she told her, “I’m only here to drop off last night’s check.”</p><p>Tess raised both eyebrows at that. “The price was only ten thousand, not twenty. And it’s already been taken care of.” </p><p>Chloe stilled at that, arching her own eyebrows, “I can certainly tell you I haven’t deposited anything considering I never got the account number to begin with.”	</p><p>“I don’t know what to tell you. The money was deposited in your name last night. I assumed you’d gotten it from Oliver.” </p><p>Her stomach clenched, “I’m perfectly capable of paying my own debts, Tess.” She told her, “but if that’s the case, I guess we’re done.” </p><p>“Sure you are.” Tess smiled condescendingly. “You know the way out.” </p><p>Chloe didn’t answer, just turned around and walked away, her stomach even tighter than before. </p><p>* * *</p><p>She didn’t want to do this, but Chloe forced herself to make her way over to the Clocktower to try and talk to Oliver. Of course it was almost ten, so he wasn’t there anymore. She stopped by a coffee shop and finished off a couple of drinks before making her way to Queen Industries. It was bad enough that she had to talk to him about this so soon after the previous night. It was even worse that it had to be in public. </p><p>But she didn’t want to wait, just in case she tried talking herself out of talking to him about this at all. </p><p>So once his secretary told him to go into his office, her stomach was already in pretty tight knots, but she forced herself to go in and get it over with. She knocked and waited just a second before opening the door. </p><p>He glanced up as she stepped into his office, his expression immediately growing neutral. “Chloe.” </p><p>Chloe glanced over at him then turned to close the door, taking her time before facing him again, “I went to see Tess.” </p><p>He focused his attention on his computer screen. “Okay.” </p><p>“You didn’t have to do that,” she told him, staring at him even though he wasn’t looking at her. </p><p>“Yes. I did,” he said evenly, not looking up.</p><p>“No, you didn’t,” she said, taking a deep breath and stepping closer to his desk, “but thank you.”</p><p>“Sure thing.” </p><p>She looked down and reached inside her purse, pulling out the check she had written Tess, “here.” She said quietly and placed it on his desk.</p><p>“I don’t want your money,” he said flatly.</p><p>“It was my debt, Oliver,” she told him, her chest tightening at his tone.</p><p>“Well, it’s erased now.” </p><p>She looked at him for a long moment then shook her head a little then started toward the door but left the check on his desk. He picked it up wordlessly and ripped it in half, tossing the two pieces in the trash can. </p><p>Chloe stilled and turned toward him again when she heard the paper being ripped. Her chest was tight but she couldn’t blame his reaction to her being there, “for what it’s worth, I’m really sorry I went last night.”</p><p>“I have no doubt,” he said bitterly. </p><p>Closing her eyes, she turned toward the door and paused again just before opening, “and I’m sorry about everything I said to you,” she said quietly before opening the door and starting out of the office.</p><p>“Are you?” He didn’t stand up, simply stared at her retreating figure.</p><p>She paused and looked at him over her shoulder, her stomach tight, “yes.”</p><p>“Why?” Oliver shook his head.</p><p>Chloe sighed softly and took a step back, closing the door again, “because you didn’t deserve that.” </p><p>He shrugged a little. “I’m not sure I understand why that matters.” </p><p>“The last thing I wanted was to hurt your feelings,” she told him sincerely, “and that’s obviously exactly what I managed.”</p><p>“Why did you come last night, Chloe? The truth.” He pursed his lips, staring at her.</p><p>Chloe looked at him for a long moment, considering; he was already angry enough with her, if she lied to him again, she knew she would make things even worse and possibly lose his friendship for good too. But telling him the truth was still terrifying, “Lois told me about the auction.” She admitted. It was a start.</p><p>He leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanging. “Okay?” </p><p>She stared at him for a moment longer then looked down, “the idea bothered me.”</p><p>Oliver was silent for a moment, then he sighed, looking away. </p><p>Sighing softly, she shook her head a little, “I’ll leave you alone.” She said quietly, turning to the door again.</p><p>“Were you jealous?” His words were quiet, barely audible.</p><p>Her chest clenched painfully and she stilled, keeping her back to his this time, “yes.” She answered just as quietly.</p><p>Oliver rose to his feet slowly, shaking his head. “Why, Chloe?” he whispered.</p><p>“Like I said,” she took a deep breath, straightening but didn’t move otherwise.“I shouldn’t have gone.”</p><p>“But you did.”</p><p>“And look at what happened.” She sighed softly, this time turning toward him.</p><p>He was quiet for a moment. “We’re kind of at a crossroads here,” he said softly.</p><p>Chloe watched him for a long moment and pursed her lips together, the way she saw it, there was really just one way to go with this, cut their losses and stop this ridiculous agreement before they ruined everything for good, if they hadn’t already, “are we?”</p><p>“Don’t you think so?” He shook his head a little, leaning against the edge of his desk as he gazed at her intently.</p><p>“I don’t know,” she took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully, unlike the previous night, “I don’t want to ruin anything beyond repair. Assuming I haven’t already.”</p><p>“If you have, you weren’t alone in it,” he murmured.</p><p>“What are you saying?” She whispered, looking over at him. The last thing they needed right now was to make wrong assumptions.</p><p>“That this is my fault, too.” He looked down at the floor.</p><p>At that, she actually frowned, “how is it your fault?” She asked, “I’m the one who showed up there last night. I’m the one who said all those things to you...” she added quietly.</p><p>“Not just last night, Chloe. This whole thing.” He drew in a breath and looked at her.</p><p>“Right,” she nodded slightly, her chest tight as she looked down, “I guess it’s better if we just... forget anything ever happened.”</p><p>He stared at her for a moment, his chest tightening, too. “You think you can actually do that?” </p><p>“I don’t know,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “but we’re making it worse.”</p><p>Oliver looked away, holding his breath. </p><p>She sighed softly and shook her head, “maybe we need to take some time to figure it out.” </p><p>“Maybe,” he said softly. “Maybe we should try to focus more on our not-so-friendly visitors problem.” </p><p>Her chest tightened and she nodded a little, taking a deep breath, “you’re right.” </p><p>He rubbed his hand over his face tiredly. “All right.” </p><p>With a deep breath, she nodded a little, “I’ll let you know if I find anything,” she said quietly. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he said softly.</p><p>“Don’t,” she said quietly, “this is what we should have been focusing on to begin with.”</p><p>“This wasn’t the way I wanted things to turn out,” he admitted, looking down.</p><p>“Maybe it’s better this way,” she said quietly, glancing at him.</p><p>He wasn’t sure that could <i>ever</i> be the truth--for him or for her. But he didn’t offer a counter argument. He met her eyes, holding her gaze for a moment. “I’ll be over this evening before patrol.” His voice was soft.</p><p>Holding her breath, Chloe nodded slightly, “I’ll see you then.” </p><p>“All right,” he said, nodding as well.</p><p>She looked at him for a moment then let out her breath and made her way out the door without another word.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clark’s eyes were dark and filled with anger as he ran into the Watchtower that afternoon, looking around until he spotted the individual he was looking for. “<i>You</i>.” </p><p>Chloe paused and blinked a couple of times because of the wind, then turned to look at him and stilled once more, “Clark?” She asked, “what’s wrong?”</p><p>“Did you think you could keep it from me forever?” he demanded, stalking toward her.</p><p>“Keep what?” She asked, taking a step back, her eyes widening. </p><p>“I know you’ve been stockpiling weapons. <i>Kryptonite</i> weapons!” </p><p>Her stomach clenched and so did her jaw, “they aren’t for <i>you</i>, Clark.” </p><p>“No? So you’re planning to kill my <i>people</i>? That’s so much better,” he said harshly, shoving her backwards. </p><p>Chloe stumbled backwards and stopped herself from falling by holding on to the couch, “no, I’m trying to protect <i>my</i> people,” she said angrily, “and <i>our</i> Planet.” </p><p>“I should never have trusted you,” he said darkly, moving over to one of the desks and shoving everything off it--papers, computer equipment, CDs. </p><p>“I would never hurt you, Clark,” she told him, closing her hands into fists as she started toward him, trying to ignore the damage he was doing. </p><p>He scoffed, turning to face her once more. “You already have. You betrayed me, time and again. Every chance you get. With Davis. Now with this. Because why? You’re <i>jealous</i>? I’ll never love you, Chloe. I never <i>could</i>.” </p><p>She stared at him in disbelief, “What are you <i>talking</i> about?” She asked, “Clark you are not yourself right now.”</p><p>“I’m more me than I’ve ever been,” he informed her, moving closer to her once more.</p><p>“Red K,” she muttered, swallowing hard, “calm down, Clark.” She said quietly, slowly inching away from him and toward the vault. </p><p>“Don’t tell me to calm down!” he shouted, grabbing her arm and yanking her closer. </p><p>“Ow!” She cried out, closing her eyes tightly. “Stop! I’m not trying to hurt you!”</p><p>“There’s only one way to make sure of that,” he said darkly, not letting her go. He looked up toward the wall, his heat vision igniting as he burned his symbol into the interior of Watchtower, smirking in satisfaction. “It’s time for us to take a little trip, Chloe.” </p><p>She stared over her shoulder at the wall, her eyes wide and she turned to look back at him, “what are you doing?” </p><p>He picked her up none-too-gently. “Taking care of a problem,” he responded.</p><p>* * * </p><p>Oliver’s knuckles were white as his fingers wrapped around the steering wheel tightly, his car speeding toward Smallville. He didn’t know what happened, but when he’d gotten to Watchtower that evening, the place looked like a cyclone hit it. </p><p>Or possibly Hurricane Kent. </p><p>And Chloe was nowhere to be found. She also wasn’t answering her cell phone. Something was definitely wrong.</p><p>He parked his car in front of the Talon and quickly climbed the stairs that led to her apartment, knocking loudly on the door. “Chloe?” </p><p>Chloe shifted on the bed and rubbed her hands over her face at the noise, looking around the room, confused. </p><p>When she didn’t answer, he sorted through his keys until he found the one to her apartment and slid it into the door, turning the handle and stepping inside. “Chloe?” </p><p>She frowned, pulling the blanket over herself even though she was fully clothed, “Oliver?” She asked, confused. </p><p>His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to look at her. “Are you all right?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she nodded, shifting to sit up, “what’s wrong?”</p><p>“I just came from Watchtower. The place was wrecked. You weren’t there, and I got worried.” He shook his head.</p><p>Chloe blinked a couple of times in confusion, “from where?” </p><p>“At Watchtower,” he repeated, moving over to the bed and hesitating a second before sitting down on the edge of it. </p><p>She frowned and inched away slightly, “I don’t think Lois is here,” she tried. </p><p>He blinked. “Well, I didn’t think she was,” he said with confusion.</p><p>“You came looking for <i>me</i>?” She asked, cocking her head slightly. </p><p>Oliver winced a little. “Look, I know we just talked about this,” he murmured. “But the place was wrecked and you weren’t answering your cell. I thought you were in some kind of trouble.” </p><p>“I’m okay,” she told him, watching him closely, not entirely sure what he was talking about. “Did something happen?” </p><p>“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me. It looks like Clark got pissed off about who knows what this time.” He rolled his eyes, rubbing a hand over his face. </p><p>“I haven’t seen Clark in a long time,” she told him, shaking her head slightly. </p><p>He blew out a breath. “Good. I’m glad you weren’t there, at least. Looks like he threw a huge temper tantrum.” </p><p>“Where?” She asked again, hoping to get a different answer this time so she could make sense of what happened.</p><p>He frowned, turning his head to look at her. “At Watchtower. Are you <i>sure</i> you’re feeling all right?” </p><p>“I’m fine,” she repeated then shoved the blanket aside then got up, “I’m not sure what Watchtower is.” </p><p>If she’d just told him that from now on the grass would be red instead of green, he wouldn’t have been more caught off guard. “...what?” </p><p>Chloe pursed her lips together, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Oliver.” </p><p>He stared up at her for a long moment, then slowly rose to his feet. He reached out to press a hand to her forehead without really thinking about it. </p><p>She blinked a couple of times and took a step back, “what are you doing?” </p><p>“Checking to see if you have a fever,” he admitted, dropping his hand to his side once more. </p><p>“Why would I?” She asked, starting to get nervous, “did something happen to me?”</p><p>Oliver stared at her again, holding his breath. That was a very good question. “Chloe, what’s the last thing you remember before I woke you up?” </p><p>She squinted a little and shook her head, “I don’t know,” she admitted, trying to think, “I think... I remember going to the Planet.” </p><p>He felt his stomach tighten. “And you said you feel okay? Your head’s not hurting or anything?” </p><p>“A little.” She admitted, shaking her head slightly, “I feel kind of out of it.” </p><p>Oliver moved closer to her hesitantly. “Can I...?” He nodded toward her slightly.</p><p>“What?” She asked, blinking a couple of times and stopping herself from pulling away, he obviously seemed worried. </p><p>“I want to look for bruises,” he admitted softly.</p><p>“Oh,” her eyes widened, “why?”</p><p>“Because I’m worried that you may have hit your head,” he said gently, searching her eyes. </p><p>Chloe frowned slightly then pursed her lips together and took a step closer, “okay,” she agreed, “but how?”</p><p>“I don’t know.” He shook his head a little, lifting one hand to her cheek and giving her a brief, faint smile despite his worry-filled eyes. Then he carefully tucked her hair behind her ears, gently tracing his fingers over her scalp. </p><p>She blinked and looked down, pursing her lips together as she tried to figure out why he was acting the way he was, “ow,” she said when he touched the back of her head, “that hurts.”</p><p>“Sorry,” he whispered, moving so he was standing behind her, carefully examining the back of her head. “There’s a bruise there.” </p><p>“Oh,” she pursed her lips together, “does it look bad?”</p><p>“Not too bad.” Not enough to cause the kind of memory lapse she was experiencing. He drew in a breath. “I think we should get you to a doctor just to make sure, though.” </p><p>“I don’t feel bad.” She told him, turning to face him. </p><p>“No, but...” He hesitantly reached out and grasped her arms gently. </p><p>Chloe winced and pulled away from him, “that hurt too,” she told him, frowning as she shrugged off her jacket. </p><p>His eyes widened at the sight of the large bruises on her upper arms. <i>Like someone who was really angry grabbed her.</i> His jaw tightened. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered.</p><p>Her eyes widened as she looked down at the bruises then back at him, “who?” </p><p>Oliver forced himself to take a deep breath. “Chloe, I need you to stay here while I go run an errand, okay?” </p><p>“Tell me what happened,” she pressed. “Who did this?”</p><p>“If I had to wager a bet?” He tightened his hands into fists. “Clark.” </p><p>“What?” She gasped, shaking her head, her eyes widening even more, “why would Clark hurt me?”</p><p>Oliver’s heart ached at her wide-eyed confusion. He wished he didn’t have to rip away her illusions about her longtime friend. “Clark isn’t the guy you think he is,” he said quietly. </p><p>“And what do you mean by that?” She asked, “what could I have done to him  to make him do this?” </p><p>“Nothing,” he told her, shaking his head as he cupped her cheek without thinking about it. “You didn’t do anything. This is all on him.” He let his hand fall away, and moved across the room, opening her top desk drawer and pulling out a small box, opening it and removing one of the green meteor rocks from inside. He moved to her side once more, holding another out to her. “I need you to stay here, and I want you to hold onto this, okay? Or put it in your pocket or something.” </p><p>“Meteor rock?” She asked, looking down at it then back at him in confusion, “why would I keep that in here?”</p><p>“I’ll explain when I get back, okay? I just need you to trust me right now.” He searched her eyes. “Can you do that, Chloe?” </p><p>She hesitated for a second then nodded slightly, taking a deep breath, “okay.” </p><p>“Just sit tight,” he said softly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” <i>Right after I track down Clark and figure out what the</i> hell <i>is going on.</i> He turned and headed for the door.</p><p>Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded a little then glanced over at her purse, “do I have your number?”</p><p>He shut his eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. It’s in your phone.” </p><p>“Okay.” She agreed quietly, her chest feeling tight even though she had no idea why. </p><p>“I’ll be back soon,” he whispered. Then he stepped out of her apartment, pulling the door shut behind him.</p><p>* * * </p><p>Clark saw Oliver’s car approaching the farm from the top of the house and, without warning, jumped on the roof of the car. </p><p>“What the <i>hell</i>,” he muttered, slamming on the brakes and throwing the car into park. He reached for the door handle of the car. “What the hell are you doing?” </p><p>“You shouldn’t have come here,” Clark said, getting down to the ground. </p><p>“Why’s that?” he asked, his jaw tightening. </p><p>“Because this is none of your business,” he told him, jaw tight. </p><p>“<i>What</i> isn’t my business?” He stared at Clark, his eyes dark. </p><p>“<i>Any</i> of this,” he pushed, eyes narrowing. ‘</p><p>“What did you do to Chloe?” Oliver asked, stepping toward the younger man.</p><p>“Chloe got what she deserved,” he smirked. </p><p>Without warning, he slammed his fist into Clark’s jaw, wincing as pain shot through his hand, but ignoring it in lieu of the satisfaction he felt seeing the guy sprawled out on the ground. </p><p>Clark groaned as he fell, turning on his side and wrapping his hands around his stomach as he felt sick instantly.</p><p>“I asked you a question,” he said darkly, crouching down beside Clark and revealing the green rock in his hand. “What the <i>hell</i> did you do to Chloe?” </p><p>“Should-- never,” he said, curling up, “have trusted-- her.” </p><p>“Tell me what you did!” he ordered, pressing the rock against the man’s arm.</p><p>Clark gasped as it burned his arm and tried to pull away, when he didn’t manage to, he glared at Oliver, “made sure she could never tell anyone about me.”</p><p>“You took her to your Fortress, didn’t you?” He glared back at Clark.</p><p>There was a hint of a smirk on Clark’s face, “yes.”</p><p>Oliver’s jaw tightened and he drew his fist back and punched Clark in the mouth. Clark groaned in pain once more and turned his face away and toward the ground. </p><p>“You son of a bitch,” he whispered.</p><p>He coughed and curled up more, not used to feeling pain. </p><p>“Are you using Red K?” he demanded, grabbing his arm.</p><p>Clark gasped and shifted, trying harder to get away. </p><p>“Better answer me, or I will leave your ass like this and not even look back,” he warned.</p><p>“Do it.” Clark dared before gasping in pain again. </p><p>Oliver chuckled darkly, rising to his full height and then reaching down and grabbing Clark by his shoulders, dragging him toward the barn. </p><p>Clark groaned and after struggling for a few moments, gave up. </p><p>He dragged the other man inside the barn, grabbing some ropes and tying him up on the ground before shoving the green rock in his pocket. “Maybe this will help you dry out,” he said darkly.</p><p>He glared up at Oliver and smirked as much as he could, “Chloe-- will never forgive you.”</p><p>Oliver smirked back at him. “Oh, I think she’ll understand once I explain to her how you’re an alien and you had her memory wiped out,” he responded. </p><p>“They will come after you,” he said, “my people.” </p><p>“You better pray I finish them off before you get loose,” Oliver responded, rising to his feet. “You didn’t just lose a friend today, Clark.” His jaw tightened. “You made an enemy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe hadn’t gone anywhere, as promised. She wouldn’t have anyway because the second she picked up her phone just to make sure she had had Oliver’s number, she’d been both completely shocked and intrigued by what she found. </p><p>She hadn’t been able to find Oliver’s name anywhere, but when she looked under her texts, she’d seen that she apparently was getting a lot of texts from someone named ‘EmeraldArcher1’, someone she’d been calling ‘Ollie’ in her texts so she knew it was <i>him</i>. </p><p>Although she didn’t get the reference for the name, the reason why Oliver had been so worried about her quickly became clear. Not only were the texts constant between them, but they were mostly either R or NC-17 rated. She could barely believe <i>she</i> had written most of those. Especially to Oliver. </p><p>Awhile later, Oliver let himself back into the apartment, looking none-too-happy as he rubbed his right hand gingerly, glancing around until he spotted her. “Hey.” </p><p>She blinked and stood up from the couch, her eyes a little wide, “Oh. Hey.” </p><p>He drew in a breath, taking note of her wide eyes. “Sorry if I startled you.” </p><p>“No, it’s fine,” she told him, dropping the phone on the couch and pursing her lips together. </p><p>He watched her for a moment, nodding and letting out a breath. “How are you feeling?” His voice was soft.</p><p>“Fine,” she said, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip, “did you talk to Clark?”</p><p>He looked down at the floor for a moment. “Yeah, we spoke.” </p><p>“What happened?” She asked, arching her eyebrows. </p><p>How exactly was he supposed to explain that to her? he wondered, leaning against the wall for a moment, avoiding her eyes.</p><p>“Oliver?” She asked, arching her eyebrows. </p><p>Oliver rubbed his hand over his face. “It’s a long story,” he admitted.</p><p>“Sounds like it,” she murmured, keeping her eyes on him. </p><p>He didn’t really know what to do. He wasn’t even sure she’d believe him if he <i>did</i> tell her the truth. It sounded crazy. And he had a feeling that any and all memories she’d had regarding Clark’s secret were long gone. Which meant he had no evidence to support what he’d be telling her. </p><p>“Oliver?” She called when he remained silent. </p><p>“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m just...trying to figure everything out.” </p><p>“Is it that bad?” she asked quietly. </p><p>“It’s not good,” Oliver admitted, not looking at her.</p><p>“Oh,” her face fell a little and she pursed her lips together then sat back down. </p><p>“I’m sorry I’m being so vague,” he said softly. “I know I told you I’d tell you what was going on when I got back.” </p><p>“I’m missing a lot, aren’t I?” She asked, her chest tight.</p><p>He sighed quietly and then moved over to sit down beside her. “Yeah.” </p><p>Nodding slightly, she took a deep breath, “what is the Watchtower?” She asked.</p><p>“It’s...sort of a headquarters for a little club we’re in,” he said carefully.</p><p>“A... club?” She asked, arching her eyebrows slowly.</p><p>Oliver watched her closely, nodding. “Basically.” </p><p>Chloe chewed on her bottom lip for a moment when he didn’t clarify, “what did Clark do to it?”</p><p>“He trashed the place,” he said honestly. “Broke some things.” <i>Torched the damn wall</i>. </p><p>“Because of me?” She asked, arching her eyebrows.</p><p>“No. Because he’s an asshole,” he responded without hesitation.</p><p>“That’s not what I meant,” she took a deep breath, “he was obviously angry at me for something.”</p><p>Oliver pursed his lips, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly. “Clark’s not exactly himself right now. He’s...” He searched for the words. “Basically high.” </p><p>“High?” She asked, a completely puzzled look on her face now, “<i>Clark Kent</i> is high?”</p><p>He gazed at her intently, nodding in response. </p><p>“Is he infected?” She asked, blinking a couple of times as she tried to make sense of this.</p><p>He paused at that. “Define infected?” </p><p>“Like by the meteor rocks,” she said quietly, arching her eyebrows.</p><p>“So you remember that much,” he murmured. </p><p>“Is that what it is?” She asked, eyes widening a little.</p><p>“He’s infected by the red kind,” he told her, watching her.</p><p>“Oh,” she blinked a few times then shook her head a little, “we should be helping him, Oliver, not just sitting here.” She said, standing up.</p><p>He reached up and caught her hand. “I’m afraid it’s a lot more complicated than that, Chloe.” </p><p>She paused and looked down at him, shaking her head slightly, “why?”</p><p>“Because Clark isn’t exactly like us,” he told her. </p><p>Blinking a couple of times, she stared at him for a moment, “like us?”</p><p>“Human,” he said softly, still holding onto her hand. </p><p>“You mean he’s a mutant?” She asked, stilling as she stared at him, not really noticing his hand still on hers.</p><p>He sighed, looking down for a moment, then rising to his feet. “Not exactly, no.” </p><p>“Then what is he?” She pressed, needing some answers.</p><p>Oliver gazed at her intently. “An alien,” he said quietly.</p><p>Chloe stilled completely at that, her eyes widening even more as she just stared at Oliver for a long moment, “an... <i>alien</i>?”</p><p>“I know how it sounds. It’s why I hesitated telling you. It sounds too far-fetched to be true.” </p><p>She looked at him for a long moment then let out a breath and moved to sit back down.</p><p>“He’s not your friend, Chloe,” he said softly. “Not really.” </p><p>Blinking a couple of times, she turned to look at him, even more confused than she was before.</p><p>“I know I’m asking a lot here, but right now I have to ask you to trust me on that one,” he whispered, crouching down in front of her and gazing up at her. </p><p>She stared down at him for a long moment then took a deep breath, “is he dangerous?”</p><p>“Yes,” he said honestly.</p><p>Swallowing hard, she nodded a little, normally this wouldn’t even be something she’d consider, but she’d seen the bruises on her arms, “what if he hurts someone?”</p><p>Sadness flashed through his eyes. <i>He already did</i>. “He’s taken care of for the moment. But  I need to go to Watchtower. It’s in Metropolis. Are you okay with that?” </p><p>Chewing on her lip once more, she nodded, “can I come with you?”</p><p>He held his breath and then rose to his feet, holding his hand out to her. “Yeah, you can.” </p><p>Chloe looked down at his hand for a moment then hesitated before taking it and standing up. If she hadn’t known there was definitely something going on between them, she would be suspecting it by now.</p><p>“I know you have a lot of questions,” he said softly.</p><p>She let out a breath and nodded a little, “I don’t think ‘a lot’ begins to cover it,” she admitted, “but it sounds like there are things more important than this.”</p><p>“I’ll answer what I can on the drive there, okay?” He tried to smile but didn’t quite manage it. </p><p>“Okay,” she nodded a little, searching his face.</p><p>Oliver gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Grab your jacket,” he advised. “It’s kind of chilly out.” And he knew she got cold easily.</p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows a little at that and nodded, pulling away from him and picking up her jacket and her purse before starting toward him again, “okay.” She said when she was ready, “I guess we should go.”</p><p>Nodding, he moved to the door, pulling it open and holding it for her silently, his chest tight. </p><p>She started toward it then paused, making her way back to the couch and picking up her phone, her face a little warmer, “almost forgot,” she said quietly before making her way outside of the apartment.</p><p>Oliver followed her out the door, shutting and locking it behind him. He glanced at her sideways as they headed down the steps. </p><p>Chloe paused and arched her eyebrows, she shouldn’t be surprised that he had her keys, considering, but it was still incredibly weird to think they were <i>sleeping</i> together. </p><p>Once they got outside, she took a deep breath and waited for him, looking up at him since she had no idea which car was his.</p><p>“It’s the SUV,” he told her softly as he caught sight of the uncertainty on her face. “The black one.” </p><p>“Thanks,” she whispered, glancing over at him then starting to the car.</p><p>He nodded slightly, following her to the SUV and heading for the driver’s side.</p><p>Once he unlocked the door, she got into the car and took a deep breath, glancing over at him when he got in.</p><p>“You okay?” he asked softly, raising his eyebrows as he put his seatbelt on.</p><p>“Yeah,” she said quietly, hesitating and pulling on her own seatbelt, pausing when she felt a sense of deja-vu.</p><p>Oliver watched her, holding his breath. “Okay.” </p><p>“Was I in here recently?” She asked quietly.</p><p>He grew still. “Yes,” he said, nodding a little. “Last night.” </p><p>“Oh,” she nodded a little, looking away from him. She couldn’t help but wonder what they had done while in the car.</p><p>“Do you remember that?” </p><p>“No,” she admitted, taking a deep breath, “but it felt... familiar.”</p><p>“Like deja vu?” he asked quietly.</p><p>“Yeah,” she whispered, looking over at him again.</p><p>Oliver held her gaze for a long moment, nodding a little. “I get that sometimes. Different reasons and everything, but...” His voice trailed off and he wondered if he could possibly sound any stupider. </p><p>She looked at him for a long moment then looked away, nodding, “yeah, I do too... normally. I think.”</p><p>He swallowed hard, then drew in a breath and started the car engine, pursing his lips. “Ready?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she told him quietly, placing her purse on the floor.</p><p>“All right.” He shifted the vehicle into gear and within moments they were heading toward Metropolis. </p><p>* * *</p><p>The roads were nearly empty, it was way past rush hour, so it took them just over two hours to get to Metropolis. They had talked some during the trip but apparently there was a lot Oliver still wasn’t willing to tell her yet. </p><p>“How long have we known each other?” She asked quietly.</p><p>“About three years,” he said softly. “Going on four.” </p><p>“Oh,” she frowned, her chest tightening, “I... barely remember being around you at all.”</p><p>He bit the inside of his cheek, nodding a little. “I kinda figured that,” he admitted.</p><p>“Sorry,” she said quietly, looking over at him again.</p><p>“Don’t be.” He glanced at her sideways. “It isn’t your fault.”</p><p>Chloe nodded slightly and took a deep breath, “still, I’m sure this isn’t easy on you.”</p><p>“I’m used to it,” he said quietly.</p><p>“What do you mean?” She frowned, watching him closely.</p><p>“Our lives aren’t exactly easy in general.” </p><p>“What do you mean?” She asked quietly, stilling when there was a loud explosion, causing the car to shake.</p><p>“Jesus Christ,” he uttered, gripping the steering wheel more tightly and looking in the rearview mirror. </p><p>“What was that?” She asked, eyes widening as she sat up and looked over her shoulder, gasping quietly, “Oliver.” She said when she saw the fire.</p><p>“I see it,” he told her, his eyes wide, too. </p><p>She stared at the building behind them that was suddenly in flames, pausing when she saw something-- or <i>someone</i> flying by the fire, “did you see that too?” She gasped.</p><p>“Shit,” he whispered, wishing he <i>hadn’t</i> seen what he’d just seen. “You still have that green meteor rock in your pocket, right?” </p><p>Chloe nodded and swallowed hard, looking over at Oliver with wide eyes, “is that Clark?”</p><p>“No,” he muttered. “I wish it was.” He stepped harder onto the gas pedal. </p><p>“Who is it?” She asked, holding on to her seat as Oliver sped away.</p><p>“One of his buddies.” He glanced at her sideways. </p><p>“There are <i>more</i> of them?” Chloe gasped, staring over at him.</p><p>Oliver drew in a breath, glad he’d already called the team and told them to head toward Metropolis. “Yeah. There are more. And they’re less friendly than he is.” He pushed a button on his dash that dialed all the members of the league at once. </p><p>She turned her attention to his dash then held her breath but fell silent when the car made a beeping noise.</p><p>“Already on it,” Bart said when he answered a second later.</p><p>“Be careful, Impulse,” he warned. “Our worst case scenario just took place.” </p><p>“I see them,” he said to Oliver, “Watchtower isn’t responding, where are the others?”</p><p>“On their way. If you get a hold of them before I do, make sure they know what’s going on.” He paused, glancing at Chloe sideways and taking a deep breath. “Watchtower’s with me.” </p><p>Chloe looked over at Oliver and arched her eyebrows, staring at him in surprise. <i>She</i> was Watchtower?</p><p>“Will do,” he answered, “gotta go, just spotted one.”</p><p>“Be safe,” he said, chewing the inside of his cheek once more and disconnecting from Bart. Then he pressed another button, dialing the other members of the team and warning them, as well. </p><p>She remained silent as he spoke with a few other people, keeping her eyes on their surroundings, all of a sudden, she heard a whooshing sound and a second later, a ball of fire hit the ground just next to where they were, “watch out!” She gasped.</p><p>He swerved to avoid the flames, gritting his teeth. He quickly steered the car off the road. “Get out,” he said, yanking the keys from the car and climbing out of the driver’s seat once he threw it into park.</p><p>Chloe grabbed her purse but didn’t hesitate before jumping out of the car, “where are we going?” She called for him, shielding her face from the heat of the fire.</p><p>He met her on the passenger side, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the vehicle right before it exploded into flames. “Just run!” </p><p>She gasped and glanced over her shoulder, eyes wide as she held on to his hand tightly and ran with him.</p><p>They ran into a section of dense forest, his heart pounding against his chest as they fled. He hoped like hell the aliens hadn’t seen their narrow escape. Because if they had, they were in big trouble.</p><p>Her lungs were burning with the chilly air that was just getting colder as they made their way through the trees, but she didn’t stop and she didn’t waste energy asking questions, she just kept on running with him.</p><p>After several moments, he stopped so they could catch their breath, glancing at her with worried eyes. He listened closely, but didn’t hear anything but the sound of their panting. </p><p>She bent over slightly, pressing a hand to her side as she tried to catch her breath, but keeping her other hand firmly in his still. Oliver wrapped his other arm around her waist silently, his eyes darting around as he kept watch. </p><p>“Where,” she took a deep breath, “are we going?” She asked, looking up at him as she straightened after a moment.</p><p>“Nowhere specific. Yet. Just trying to get out of sight and stay that way,” he said softly. “You all right?”</p><p>“Yeah,” she nodded, looking over her shoulder, “where should we go?” She whispered.</p><p>“Right now we need to lay low,” he whispered back. “Until we know for sure we’re out of the woods.” He paused, glancing around. “...so to speak.” </p><p>Chloe chewed on the inside of her lip and nodded slowly, “okay.”</p><p>Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Come on,” he murmured, nodding ahead of them.</p><p>With another deep breath, she nodded and started walking once more. He gave her hand a light squeeze as they fell silent and began to walk.</p><p>They walked for she didn’t know how long, they picked up the pace and slowed down at others, this was the one forest area around Metropolis and she knew they shouldn’t be far from the lake at this point, but everything was quiet, eerily so. “Should we keep going?” She asked.</p><p>“I think it’s getting too dark,” he murmured, glancing at her and barely seeing her face in the darkness. “I think we should stop for the night.” </p><p>Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked up at him, “do you think it’s safe?”</p><p>“Safer than to keep going when they have all the advantages here,” he said softly.</p><p>“How many of them are there?” She asked as they slowed down to a stop.</p><p>Oliver pursed his lips. “Fifty?” He raised his eyebrows. “A hundred? We weren’t sure.” </p><p>“A hundred?” She gasped, “how can we stop them?”</p><p>He turned to look at her. “The green meteor rocks will slow them down,” he said quietly. </p><p>“But not stop them.” She whispered back, looking up at him, or what she could see of him.</p><p>“We were exploring other options.” He looked down at the ground, his chest tight.</p><p>“Like what?” She pressed, “I know there’s a lot I don’t know or understand but... I want to help.”</p><p>“Apparently there are other kinds of Krypto--meteor rocks. They all do different things to them.” </p><p>“Krypto?” She asked, not missing the unfamiliar word. While the whole alien thing was weird, she had always believed they existed and with all of her experience with mutants and meteor freaks, she had seen her share of weird. Somehow, thinking of her and <i>Oliver</i> was a lot harder to process. </p><p>He paused. “Kryptonian,” he said softly. “That’s where they’re from. A planet called Krypton.” </p><p>“Oh.” she paused and cocked her head, “is that where the meteor rocks came from?”</p><p>Oliver nodded slightly. “Yeah. The green kind makes them weak or sick.” </p><p>“What about the other kinds?” She whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. </p><p>He drew in a breath, moving to sit down at the base of an old oak tree. “Red strips them of their inhibitions.” His jaw tightened ever-so-slightly. </p><p>“Is that the one Clark is on?”  She asked. </p><p>“Yeah.” He looked up at her, his chest tightening.</p><p>“Is there one that would help us stop them?” She asked, arching her eyebrows. </p><p>“The blue kind strips them of their powers,” he told her quietly. “Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of it around.” </p><p>Chloe shifted a little and took a deep breath, looking around the woods for a moment then back at him, “where could we find them?”</p><p>“That’s the problem,” he said softly. “There’s plenty of green and a lot of red, and not so much blue.” </p><p>Nodding, she took a deep breath, “is there any other way?”</p><p>“If there is, I’m not aware of it.” </p><p>She sighed softly and nodded again, “we should find a place to spend the rest of the night.”</p><p>He glanced around and then back up at her. “I kinda figured this was about as good a spot as any.” </p><p>“Okay.” she agreed quietly, hesitating then finding a spot by a tree and sitting down. </p><p>Oliver held his breath. “Are you cold?” </p><p>“A little,” she admitted then shrugged, “but I’ll be okay.”</p><p>“All right. Try and get some rest,” he said softly.</p><p>“Aren’t you going to try and do the same?” She asked, frowning up at him. </p><p>“I need to keep an eye out just in case.” </p><p>“Let me know in a couple of hours,” she suggested, we can switch.”</p><p>Oliver pursed his lips and nodded a little. “All right.” He paused for a moment. “Goodnight.” His voice grew softer.</p><p>Chloe was quiet for a moment then took a deep breath, “I probably won’t be able to sleep,” she admitted. </p><p>He looked over to where she was sitting, barely able to see her in the darkness of the forest. “A little too freaked out?” he guessed.</p><p>“That and... I guess I was out for a while when you found me.” She told him, pursing her lips together. </p><p>His jaw tightened at that and he shut his eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. </p><p>“It’s not your fault,” she said quietly then paused, at least she didn’t <i>think</i> it was.</p><p>Oliver rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. </p><p>“Are you okay?” She asked, shifting slightly. </p><p>“Yeah.” For now, anyway. But his mind was already spinning as he tried to come up with viable plans to stop the Kandorians. He was berating himself inwardly for stopping when there were people out there who needed help, who were being killed or enslaved already. He wondered how quickly the alien race would have everyone on earth under their control. Was this how it happened when Lois went to the future? Was this how it started?</p><p>“How long has this been going on?” She asked quietly, wrapping her arms around her legs. </p><p>He blinked a few times, looking toward her again. “What do you mean?” he asked carefully.</p><p>“Just... the whole thing with the alien invasion, sounds like you’ve been dealing with it for a while now.” </p><p>“It’s been impending for awhile,” he admitted. “But the actual invasion part just started.” </p><p>“I’m guessing I should be helping you with it?” She asked, turning toward him.</p><p>“I’m not sure how much you can do at this point,” he said softly.</p><p>“I figured,” she sighed softly, “but if there is anything I can do...”</p><p>“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll need your help before it’s all said and done. I always do.” He shut his eyes and leaned back against the tree.</p><p>Her chest tightened a little and as much as she wanted to ask more about that, she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear about that just yet. </p><p>“You should try and get some rest. We’re going to have a long day ahead tomorrow.” </p><p>“Yeah,” she whispered quietly, “goodnight.” </p><p>“Goodnight,” he whispered back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They made their way to the edge of Metropolis a little before eight thirty the following morning. What he saw there sickened him. If Dark Thursday had been bad, this was terrible. Buildings all around them were on fire, and people were screaming for help. The smell of burnt flesh made his stomach roll and he did his best to hold his breath as he pulled Chloe down an alley a few blocks from the clocktower. </p><p>Chloe didn’t feel better than he did, she was looking around in horror as they walked through the city, her hand firmly wrapped around his. “Is it here?” She asked as they made their way through the alley. He had mentioned a safe place, she had no idea what to expect. </p><p>“We’re getting there,” he told her very softly. “Just a little farther.” </p><p>“Okay,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder and keeping an eye on their surroundings. </p><p>He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and moved toward the end of the alley, heart beating heavily in his chest as he heard an explosion too close for his comfort. He gritted his teeth as the ground shook a little, tightening his hand around hers. </p><p>She gasped and shifted closer to him, but didn’t look back this time, “go,” she whispered. </p><p>Nodding, he led her out of the alley, eyes darting around to make sure all was clear. He pulled her down the street and toward the closest manhole, letting go of her hand in order to yank it up. “Go.” </p><p>“In here?” She asked, eyes widening but she got in a second later when there was another explosion. </p><p>Oliver followed her down the manhole quickly, letting the lid drop back in place. “I know it’s not ideal.” </p><p>“What is in here?” She whispered, ducking inside the place.</p><p>“A safe place,” he told her, reaching out and taking her hand once more, making a face at the stench. </p><p>She held onto his hand and kept close to him, looking around as much as she could in the darkness. </p><p>“We’re not too far,” he whispered, guiding her farther down the dark tunnels.</p><p>“Okay,” she whispered, walking half behind him not to trip on anything. </p><p>Oliver held his breath until they made it to the vault they’d had constructed. He let go of her hand for a moment, pulling his phone from his pocket and using the light from it to shine on the coded area. He typed in the code and then pulled the door open. </p><p>Chloe’s eyes widened when he opened the door and without hesitation, she stepped inside the vault and gasped when she saw parts of it through the light of his phone, “woah,” she murmured as the entire place was wall to wall filled with meteor ro-- kryptonite weapons and vests and all kinds of things made of the green rock.</p><p>He rested his hand at the small of her back, guiding her inside and closing the door shut behind them tightly. Then he reached up and tugged on a chain, flooding the place with light. On the far side of the shelter there were shelves and shelves of food, as well as a large generator and personal hygiene items. He glanced at her sideways, raising his eyebrows a little.</p><p>All she could do for a long moment was stare, she took a step forward into the room, looking around for a while before looking at him again, “you’ve been planning,” she whispered, eyes wide.</p><p>“We, actually,” he said quietly. “It was your idea.” </p><p>“Oh,” she blinked a couple of times, surprised as she looked around again, pursing her lips together, “what about the other people you were talking to?”</p><p>“Well, Bart’s been here already,” he told her with a small smile, nodding toward an empty bag of potato chips. “They all know where it is. And these tunnels go on for miles. We should be set for awhile.” </p><p>She let out a breath and nodded, glancing at him then stepping closer to the weapons, “did you make these?” If she called him Emerald Archer, there must be a reason for it.</p><p>He smiled a bit at that. “No. You had them made.” He watched her closely. </p><p>“I <i>made</i> them?” She echoed, “not literally, right?”</p><p>“Not literally. Not with your own two hands. But you had all of the meteor rock weapons and vests created.” </p><p>“Oh, okay,” she relaxed slightly, “good, I’d be upset if I had forgotten about my blacksmithing skill too.”</p><p>Oliver smirked. “Don’t worry. Not an issue. The crossbow wielding skills, however...” </p><p>She turned to him again and blinked a couple of times, “I can use one of those?”</p><p>“You’d gotten pretty efficient with it,” he told her. “And for that matter, you’re a natural with a longbow. Not a lot of people can say that.” </p><p>Chloe blinked, not sure if he was making fun of her, “did you teach me?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he admitted quietly. “I did.” </p><p>“Is that why you’re under Emerald Archer on my phone?” She asked, holding her breath as she looked at him.</p><p>Oliver met her eyes. “That’s part of it,” he said softly. </p><p>“Is the emerald part because of this?” She asked, motioning to the weapons.</p><p>“No. Green’s just my favorite color.” </p><p>“Oh,” she nodded slightly, pursing her lips together and looking around once more, “what do we do now?”</p><p>Oliver drew in a breath. “There are a few things I need to go get,” he admitted quietly. </p><p>She stilled, “alone?”</p><p>“I can move faster if I’m by myself,” he said gently, searching her eyes. “You’ll be safe here. The others have the code, and they’ll probably start showing up soon.” </p><p>“They know I’m okay to be here?” She asked, her chest tightening at the thought of him leaving.</p><p>Oliver moved closer to her, lifting his hand to her cheek. “Yeah. They all know and trust you,” he assured her softly. “It’ll be all right.” </p><p>Chloe chewed on the inside of her bottom lip, “does Lois know to come here?”</p><p>He shut his eyes. “Lois doesn’t know about any of this,” he admitted quietly. </p><p>She froze and her stomach dropped, “so she’s in danger?” Chloe gasped.</p><p>He opened his eyes to look at her once more. “Chloe, right now <i>everyone</i> is in danger. But we’ll find Lois.” </p><p>“Can you get one of the others to bring her here?” She asked, her eyes wide, “would that be too dangerous for them?”</p><p>Oliver looked down for a moment. “I’ll do what I can,” he said softly.</p><p>“I don’t want you to be in any more danger than you already are,” she said quietly, looking up at him, “I wish I could help you like I was supposed to.”</p><p>“I’m in danger all the time,” he told her with a faint smile. “I’ll be all right.”</p><p>Chewing on the inside of her mouth, she kept her eyes on him and nodded slightly.</p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, searching her eyes for a moment before his gaze dropped involuntarily to her mouth. Swallowing hard, he took a step away from her. “Stay here, okay? You’re safe here.” </p><p>Her chest tightened and she looked away, nodding, “I won’t go anywhere.” She promised. </p><p>“I’ll see you soon,” he said softly, turning and heading out the vault door.</p><p>“Stay safe,” she told him quietly, wrapping her arms over herself as she watched him.</p><p>* * *</p><p>She had no idea how much time had passed, the others had come and gone, well two of them anyway. They had barely spoken with her, one of them had eaten half of the food before the other one stopped him and they were out again. </p><p>But as she waited in there, she heard Lois’ unmistakable voice calling her name. Chloe stood quickly and opened the door without a second thought, “Lois?” She called back as she used her entire body to force the door open wide.</p><p>“Thank God.” Lois wrapped her arms around her little cousin tightly, shutting her eyes tightly. “I need your help.” </p><p>Chloe held on to Lois tightly for a moment then took a deep breath as she pulled back, “what’s wrong?”</p><p>She stepped aside to reveal an unconscious Oliver Queen behind her on the floor, blood dripping from his head. “Help me get him inside,” she said anxiously.</p><p>Her stomach dropped and eyes widened instantly as Chloe’s eyes fell on him, immediately walking over to him, “what happened?” She whispered, guilt already taking over her.</p><p>“We were almost here,” Lois told her, dropping down to Oliver’s side and grabbing hold of his arms. “One of those things...I don’t know, I don’t know what it was, he shoved me away. He didn’t lose consciousness until we were already down here.” </p><p>“One of the aliens?” Chloe whispered, taking his legs and dragging him into the room as carefully as possible.</p><p>“Is that what they are?” Her eyes widened a little as she helped Chloe drag him inside. </p><p>“That’s what Oliver told me,” she said to Lois but kept her eyes on Oliver’s unconscious form, “do you think we can lift him onto one of the mattresses?”</p><p>Lois drew in a breath, nodding a little. “Count of three?” </p><p>Nodding, Chloe took a deep breath and bent her knees then held on under Oliver’s knees as firmly as possible, “one, two,” another deep breath as she spoke, “three,” then lifted him.</p><p>She rested his head gently on the mattress and looked at Chloe, swallowing hard. “Aliens?” </p><p>Pursing her lips together, she nodded slightly then moved to kneel next to Oliver and check on his pulse, “the ones who are flying around and are setting fire on everything. From some planet called Krypton.”</p><p>Lois rubbed a hand over her face. “This is <i>crazy.</i>” </p><p>“I know,” she breathed then looked up at Lois, “do you think he’s hurt anywhere?”</p><p>She looked down at Oliver, chewing her lower lip. “I don’t know. His head’s bleeding a lot,” she whispered. “Is there a first aid kit around here somewhere?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she stood up and picked one up from a shelf not far from the bed, her stomach tight as she made her way back, “let’s turn him on his side.”</p><p>Lois drew in a breath and moved so she was kneeling on one side of him, carefully turning him onto his side and pausing when he groaned almost inaudibly. </p><p>“It’s okay,” Chloe whispered, wincing when she realized his hair was covered in blood and picking up a gauze to try and clean it, “you’ll be okay,” she whispered to him.</p><p>She watched her cousin intently, holding her breath.</p><p>“It doesn’t look too bad,” she said quietly as she cleaned it gently, “can you get me one of the towels?” She had no idea what she was doing but her gut was telling her it was her job to make sure the wound was clear and that he would be okay.</p><p>“Yeah, of course.” Lois moved across the room, grabbing one of the towels off the shelf. “Looks like you guys were really prepared for this.” </p><p>Chloe stilled for a moment and looked away from her cousin, “how much did he have time to tell you?”</p><p>“Not a lot,” she admitted. “We were pretty much running for our lives.” </p><p>Chloe took the towel from her cousin’s hand and pressed it against Oliver’s head, reaching to check on his pulse, relieved to find it was still strong and steady. “There’s a lot I don’t remember.” She admitted.</p><p>Her eyebrows furrowed at that. “What do you mean, that you don’t remember?” </p><p>“I don’t understand what exactly happened,” she glanced at Lois, “but Oliver said that... Clark did something, he erased my memory, or parts of it.”</p><p>Lois stilled, her eyes widening. “What? How would he even do that?” </p><p>“I don’t know,” she whispered, swallowing hard. It felt against her every instinct to tell Lois everything she knew, but she had to do what was best to protect her cousin, “Oliver said that--” she lowered her voice, “he’s one of them.”</p><p>She stared at Chloe with an open mouth. “Clark Kent. Is an alien.” </p><p>Pursing her lips together, Chloe shifted carefully so she was sitting behind Oliver’s back and still holding the towel to his head. She nodded slightly and looked up at her cousin, “Oliver said we shouldn’t trust him. He’s on this one kind of meteor rock that affects him like drugs would affect us.”</p><p>Lois blinked several times and then slowly sat down on the mattress. “This is insane,” she whispered. </p><p>“You didn’t know about any of this?” She whispered, keeping her eyes on her cousin.</p><p>“No. I didn’t.” She rubbed a hand over her face.</p><p>Chloe paused then stilled, “do you think maybe he did something to your memory too?”</p><p>She held her breath, looking over her shoulder at Chloe with wide eyes.</p><p>“I don’t know for sure,” she said quickly, lifting her free hand to her cousin’s arm, “does your head feel fuzzy?”</p><p>“No,” she said honestly, shaking her head. “Why, does yours?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she pursed her lips together, “like I’m missing things, and I know I am but...”</p><p>“But?” she prompted, raising her eyebrows.</p><p>“But it’s almost like it’s all... in the back of my head, I just can’t think of it.” She whispered, looking over at Oliver.</p><p>Lois held her breath. “Definitely don’t have <i>that</i> feeling,” she told her, rising to her feet and beginning to pace the length of the floor.</p><p>Chewing on the inside of her mouth, Chloe nodded a little and shifted on the bed to check Oliver’s pulse once more, “do you think we should give him water?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Wouldn’t he choke on it?” she asked uncertainly. </p><p>“I don’t know,” she sighed softly, “but he’s losing a lot of blood, maybe we should try.”</p><p>“I heard somewhere that head wounds just bleed a lot,” Lois said, looking worried.</p><p>“Okay,” Chloe agreed quietly, placing the towel on the mattress and gently turning him so he was laying on his back again, “hopefully one of the others will be here soon and they will know what to do.”</p><p>“One of the others?” she asked, looking wary.</p><p>“People on Oliver’s team.” she explained as well as she could, “someone called Bart and someone called Vic came by.”</p><p>Lois just looked at her blankly. </p><p>Chloe’s stomach clenched at the look on Lois’ face, “you don’t-- know anything about that either, do you?”</p><p>“Seems like there’s a lot I don’t know about,” she said wryly.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, watching Lois closely.</p><p>She shrugged. “Somehow I think he’s the one who needs to be explaining some things.” </p><p>“Regardless, you need to stay away from him for now.”</p><p>Lois nodded slightly and the two of them fell silent, watching Oliver’s unconscious form.</p><p>“Are you hurt?” she asked in a whisper as she turned to her cousin again.</p><p>“No, I’m fine,” she assured Chloe.</p><p>“There’s food and water over there,” she motioned to one of the shelves, “and a bathroom over here.”</p><p>She drew in a breath, nodding a little and heading off toward the bathroom.</p><p>Chloe sighed deeply and turned back to Oliver, brushing her fingers through his hair without realizing what she was doing, “you need to wake up soon.”</p><p>He turned his head toward her, though his eyes remained shut. </p><p>“I have no idea what to do next without you,” she whispered, keeping her eyes on him.</p><p>He groaned softly. “...said anything about...without me?” he mumbled.</p><p>She stilled and cupped his cheek, her guilt over asking him to find Lois and worry over his well-being overwriting her constant need to analyse things, “can you drink some water?”</p><p>Oliver leaned into his touch instinctively. “Think so.” </p><p>“Don’t try to move,” she whispered then got up just enough to reach for a water bottle before sitting next to him again. </p><p>“What happened?” he murmured. </p><p>“They almost got you,” she said quietly, cupping the back of his head gently and pressing the bottle to his lips, stilling when she realized the towel was soaked, “you need stitches.”</p><p>He winced a little, sitting up just enough so he didn’t choke on the water. “Don’t suppose you remember how to do that?” </p><p>Her stomach dropped and her chest tightened at the same time, she had the feeling she was supposed to know how to do that, “no, but I can try.”</p><p>He reached up and touched her arm silently, gazing up at her.</p><p>She swallowed hard and looked down at him, holding his gaze, “tell me what to do.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He woke up hours later, his head throbbing with a dull ache. He licked his lips, groaning softly as he realized how dry his mouth was. He rubbed a hand over his face as he sat up slowly, opening his eyes and looking around, blinking a few times to clear his vision.</p><p>Chloe sat up when she felt him moving, she had been sitting on the ground, with her head on the mattress, and had ended up falling asleep, “Oliver?” She asked quietly. </p><p>He glanced down at her, his eyebrows furrowing. “What time is it?” </p><p>“I don’t know,” she said quietly, “how are you feeling?”</p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “A little better.” </p><p>“Is your head still hurting?” She asked in a whisper. </p><p>Oliver met her eyes, shaking his head slightly. “I’m all right. You did a good job.” </p><p>She chewed on the inside of her mouth,” I’m glad you’re okay, do you want to take more pain killers?”</p><p>“No,” he said softly. “And for future reference, there’s no need for you to sleep on the floor.” </p><p>“I wasn’t planning on sleeping at all,” she admitted, looking over at him as she shifted closer, “can I check on the cut?”</p><p>Oliver held his breath, watching her and nodding silently. </p><p>She looked at him for a moment then gently touched the back of his head, tilting it so she could pull on the gauze, holding her breath then it was mostly clean, “looks okay.”</p><p>His eyes darkened just a little, and he swallowed hard, unable to pretend he wasn’t affected by her close proximity. “Good.” His voice was a little huskier than usual.</p><p>Chloe looked at him for a moment then pulled away, sitting on her heels, not missing the way he was looking at her, “do you want some water? Or something to eat?”</p><p>Oliver shook his head, still watching her. “How’s Lois? Is she all right?” </p><p>“Yeah, she’s resting,” Chloe told him quietly, nodding at the mattress on the other end of the room and at her cousin’s feet sticking out from behind a shelf.</p><p>He followed her gaze and nodded, relaxing a little. “The others?” </p><p>“Haven’t been here.” she sighed softly, “not since you got back anyway.” </p><p>Immediately he tensed once more and he rose to his feet slowly. </p><p>“Oliver!” She gasped, getting up too, “what are you doing?”</p><p>“I have to get back out there and find them. They might be in trouble.” </p><p>“And you are hurt,” she told him, staring up at him. </p><p>“I’ll be all right.” </p><p>“Are you dizzy? You lost a lot of blood.” She said quietly, watching him worriedly. </p><p>Oliver hesitated. “A little. But it’s not bad.” </p><p>“You can’t go anywhere,” she told him, forcing her voice to be firmer, “you need to at least eat, you lost so much blood, Oliver...”</p><p>He raised his eyebrows a little. If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she was back to her old self again. “All right. I’ll eat something,” he promised, holding his hands up.</p><p>She let out a breath and nodded slightly, keeping an eye on him, “and drink too.” She added, softer this time.</p><p>“Deal,” he said quietly, even as his stomach twisted with anxiety as he considered where the others might be. </p><p>* * *</p><p>The more time went by, the more restless she got. She’d asked Oliver if he could think of anything she and Lois could do, but he had been too anxious to get back out there to do... whatever it was that they were doing to really be able to think.</p><p>And they had all been gone for too long now. “What do you think they are doing?” She asked, glancing over at her cousin. </p><p>Lois shook her head a little. “I have no idea. Probably the whole hero thing, I guess?” </p><p>Chloe paused and cocked her head, “hero thing?”</p><p>Her eyes widened a little. “Right. Your memory. Right,” she whispered. </p><p>“What did you mean?” She asked, shifting on where she was sitting by the door. </p><p>Lois hesitated. “Maybe your memories should come back on their own.” </p><p>She frowned slightly and pursed her lips together, “there’s a lot I don’t remember.”</p><p>She looked down. “Ollie’s sort of a hero.” </p><p>“He sounds like one,” she whispered, looking over at her cousin.</p><p>“So I guess he and the others are out there trying to stop the aliens.” </p><p>“Do you know the others?” She asked, taking a deep breath and standing up to stretch. </p><p>“I don’t know any Barts or Victors,” she told Chloe, shrugging a little. </p><p>“There was someone else... I’m not sure what the name was.” She said quietly. She had heard it during the conversation while they were in the car, but it had been right around the explosions.</p><p>“I don’t know,” Lois said quietly, as well. </p><p>“When was the last time you saw Clark?” She asked, holding her breath. </p><p>She considered. “A couple days ago, at the Daily Planet.” </p><p>“How was he acting?” She asked quietly. </p><p>“Fine. Completely normal.” She raked a hand through her dark hair. </p><p>Chewing on the inside of her mouth, she cocked her head slightly, “do you know if he and Oliver got along?”</p><p>She paused, considering that for a moment. “Sometimes? There’s always been some tension between them, I guess. Why?” </p><p>“I... woke up and Oliver was with me. I barely remember him but I feel like I can trust him.” She admitted, watching her cousin. </p><p>Lois blinked. “You woke up and Oliver was with you?” </p><p>Chloe stilled and stared at Lois for a moment, she’d been trying to figure out if Lois knew or not, that answered her question, “I mean, knocking on the door, he was coming to check on me. At the Talon.”</p><p>She cocked her head to the side, watching her cousin closely. “Why? I mean, did he know something was wrong?” </p><p>“He said something about a place called Watchtower being destroyed,” Chloe told her, “do you know where that is?”</p><p>“Watchtower?” Lois echoed, shaking her head. “I don’t know what that is.” </p><p>“Me neither,” she said, then sat up a little, “but what I wanted to ask is: do you think Oliver can be trusted?”</p><p>“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “Definitely.” </p><p>Chloe smiled a little at that, just slightly as she relaxed, “good, that’s good.” </p><p>Lois shifted, watching her even more closely. “Is there something going on between the two of you?” </p><p>She paused at that and looked away from her cousin, “I don’t know...” she said quietly, “I don’t remember.” </p><p>She pursed her lips, considering. “All right.” </p><p>With a deep breath, Chloe stretched her legs in front of herself, “why don’t you get some rest? I’ll... keep listening for anything outside.” </p><p>Nodding, Lois yawned involuntarily. “All right. Don’t hesitate to wake me if something happens.” She headed back over to the bed she’d been laying on before. </p><p>“I will,” Chloe said quietly, pursing her lips together then eyeing the armory Oliver had told her about the day before. She knew that Lois slept like a rock so it shouldn’t be too hard for her to sneak out and see if she could help. </p><p>* * * </p><p>She really had no idea what she was doing, for now, she was just running. Some of the fires had been put out, but the city was mostly destroyed. It was overwhelming to see it and she really didn’t know how long it had been since Oliver took her to that room, but it looked like a whole war had happened above them. </p><p>It was sunset, apparently. Mostly dark, except it looked like there were new fires toward downtown, because she could tell it was much brighter, and she knew the wind wasn’t helping. </p><p>So she ran in that direction, if Oliver and the others were going to be anywhere, if they were heroes like Lois called them, they would be right where the city was getting hit. </p><p>This was it. </p><p>The moment the crossbow slipped from his hand, he knew he was in trouble. He’d managed to locate Bart and AC hours earlier, and Vic was off somewhere attempting to both find some piece of Kryptonian technology that would send all of the Kandorians to another dimension <i>and</i> get a hold of Zatanna, while he and the other two did their best to take down as many of the aliens as they could. </p><p>AC was making an attack from the sea, and Bart was still zipping around putting out fires and rescuing struggling humans from the monsters. </p><p>But now he stood just feet away from the leader of the Kandorians, without a weapon, his heart pounding in his chest as Zod smirked at him. </p><p>“I think I’ve had enough of Green Arrow to last a lifetime,” he informed Oliver. </p><p>That was when Chloe saw him, or... one of them. She could tell that the guy in black was one of the aliens because they all wore the same symbol on their clothes, and this one guy was wearing green and she could see a weapon glowing green not far behind him. </p><p>All she had to go on was her instinct and that was all she was listening to as she picked up the crossbow she had in her hand, aimed and shot. Hoping she would hit the enemy and not one of the good guys. </p><p>Zod’s eyes had just lit up and Oliver braced himself for the inevitable pain he was about to experience when he suddenly realized there was an arrow sticking out of the alien’s chest. He blinked, staring for a moment as the leader dropped to the ground and he found himself staring at Chloe. </p><p>Chloe stilled when she realized she had hit the target, her eyes wide as she stared at the man who was now kneeling on the ground. </p><p>Before he had a chance to say anything, his eyes widened as he spotted a woman with dark hair lifting a sword up behind Chloe. He somersaulted backwards and grabbed his bow, firing a shot and watching as it struck right between her eyes. </p><p>All she felt was a strong wind blowing right next to her ear with a whooshing sound, her eyes widened even more as she stared at him, for a second, thinking he was aiming <i>at</i> her, and then she heard someone fall to the ground behind her and with a gasp, turned to see a brunette woman lying motionless on the floor and a sword on the ground.</p><p>He rose to his feet quickly and strode toward her. “One good save deserves another,” he said, his voice distorted.</p><p>“Emerald Archer,” she whispered as she stared at him, knowing that it was Oliver the second he started toward her, her eyes wide and crossbow still in hand.</p><p>A fleeting smile touched his mouth at her utterance and he dipped his head, kissing her mouth softly but not lingering. “Watchtower.” </p><p>She didn’t move as he kissed her, just swallowed hard and blinked a few times as he pulled away, shocked. “Oliver?” She whispered uncertain, her lips tingling where his had touched.</p><p>He nodded slightly, his chest tightening at the doubt in her voice. “We need to get back. But first...” He looked down to where Alia lay motionless, his jaw tensing.</p><p>“Was she...?” Chloe trailed off, turning to look behind herself once more. </p><p>He glanced at her sideways. “Turn away,” he said softly.</p><p>She frowned and turned to look at him once more, keeping her eyes on his face, her stomach tight.</p><p>“Please.” </p><p>Pursing her lips together, she lowered her head and turned away, closing her eyes.</p><p>Oliver’s jaw tightened once more and he knelt down, picking up the woman’s sword. <i>This is the woman who would’ve killed Chloe in another lifetime</i>. He held his breath and swung the sword, feeling nauseous as the blade connected with her neck. </p><p>Despite having her eyes closed, Chloe heard the noise the blade made as he swung, her own stomach turning, “what about the man?” She whispered to him, opening her eyes but not turning her head.</p><p>“Zod,” he murmured, glancing over at him, sword still clutched in his hand. </p><p>Chloe turned to look at the man named Zod too and lifted her crossbow, “you know the two of them,” she whispered, glancing at Oliver.</p><p>“He’s their leader,” he told her, glancing sideways at her. </p><p>Her eyes widened and she held her breath, “we should hurry,” she whispered, “before the others hear he’s hurt.”</p><p>Nodding, he reached out and took hold of her arm. “Let’s go.” </p><p>“No,” she paused, looking back at the man she had shot, “I meant we should... get rid of him.”</p><p>He held his breath at that, then nodded. “Right.” Swallowing hard, he let go of her once more, his grip tightening on the blade in his hand as he moved forward, toward Zod’s fallen form.</p><p>Chloe followed this time, her jaw tight. She didn’t know what was happening, not entirely, but she had lost count of how many bodies she saw on the streets on her way there. If they had caused this much damage in hours, she didn’t want to think what Earth would be like with them around.</p><p>* * *</p><p>It had been quick, Oliver had used the sword on the leader and moments later they were running back to the sewer entrance that led to the secret room. Of course it had just started pouring rain moments later and by the time they got back under, they were both soaked. </p><p>As soon as he closed the manhole, she let out a breath and turned toward him, “are you okay?” She asked, taking a deep breath as she recovered from the running.</p><p>“I’m all right,” he told her, pushing his hood back and off his head. “Are <i>you</i> all right?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she said quietly, holding her breath as she watched him, “how do we end things now? With him gone.”</p><p>He pursed his lips. “Vic’s still looking for the technology that will send them to another dimension, away from here.” </p><p>“And what if that doesn’t work?” She asked, shivering slightly.</p><p>Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Then we’ll keep fighting.” His voice was quiet.</p><p>She pursed her lips and searched his eyes, or what she could see of them. “Clark has all the powers they have, doesn’t he?”</p><p>“He does,” he said softly. “And I didn’t see him out there.” </p><p>“Do you think maybe we could talk him into helping?” She whispered, “he cares about Lois, maybe he would listen to her.”</p><p>Oliver looked away, falling silent for a moment. “Assuming we can find him and assuming the red Kryptonite is out of his system and assuming that Lois <i>can</i> get through his thick skull...maybe.” </p><p>“As a last case scenario,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself, “I don’t wanna put her in danger if we can avoid it.”</p><p>“Agreed,” he said, nodding a little. “Come on. Let’s get you back and into something warmer.” </p><p>“Wait,” she said quietly, lifting a hand to his arm, “is this what you and the others really are?” She asked, “heroes?”</p><p>He held his breath for a moment. “Trying to save the world,” he whispered.</p><p>“I’m glad someone is,” she whispered, dropping her hand from his arm.</p><p>“You’re one of us,” he told her, lifting his hand to her cheek.</p><p>She swallowed hard and leaned into his touch instinctively, “I wanted to help,” she said quietly, “you said I was part of the team and I thought maybe you needed me.”</p><p>“Always,” he whispered. “I always need you.” He swallowed hard, searching her eyes. </p><p>Her chest tightened as she watched him, she wanted to move closer to him, to wrap her arms around him and kiss him. Just follow her instincts as she had been doing in the past hour or so, but she stopped herself this time, “we were-- are-- there is something going on, isn’t there?”</p><p>Oliver nodded ever-so-slightly, his voice a little strained. “It’s complicated,” he admitted.</p><p>Chloe pursed her lips together and looked down, “I guess we should wait and figure this out after it’s all over.”</p><p>He reluctantly let his hand drop from her face. “I guess so,” he agreed quietly. “Thank you. You saved my life up there.” </p><p>“And you saved mine,” she took a deep breath and looked up at him, “thank you.”</p><p>He nodded slightly, meeting her eyes once more. </p><p>She hesitated then reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, she didn’t know why, but she felt like he needed it. Like he needed the comfort.</p><p>He looked down at their hands, then gently squeezed her hand in return, looking up at her once more, offering her a tiny smile. </p><p>Her chest tightened and she squeezed his hand back, holding on to it., “come on, you need to get warm too.”</p><p>Nodding, he slid his fingers through hers as they walked toward the sheltered room together.</p><p>She paused and looked up at him when they reached the door, “I didn’t tell Lois I was leaving, I hope she’s still asleep.”</p><p>Looking worried, he opened the door and relaxed a little when he spotted her feet hanging off the mattress. “Woman could sleep through an earthquake.” </p><p>Chloe relaxed a little too then paused and looked at him, then away quickly. She couldn’t help but wonder if Lois didn’t know because of their past together.</p><p>Oliver led her inside, shutting the door behind them and setting the sword he’d been carrying down on the floor, letting out a breath. </p><p>She took a deep breath and set the crossbow down on the stand it’d been earlier along with the arrows, then glanced over at Oliver once more.</p><p>He watched her, raising his eyebrows a little, then slowly moving over to her side once more. “Sure you’re okay?” His voice was soft.</p><p>“Yeah,” she whispered, “just... wish I could remember.”  </p><p>“You will,” he said with confidence. </p><p>“And if I don’t?” She asked quietly, turning to look at him.</p><p>Oliver held his breath. “Then I’ll fill you in on everything you don’t remember.” </p><p>Her eyes were big as she searched his face, “promise? Everything?”</p><p>“Everything,” he promised, touching her cheek once more. Even if it was painful. Even if she wound up hating him.</p><p>“Thank you,” she said quietly, covering his hand with hers. </p><p>“You’re welcome,” he said just as quietly, holding her gaze.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe was asleep, and for some reason, almost comfortable. She had taken half of a queen mattress while Oliver took the other half and Lois hadn’t moved from the single mattress in the corner. She was actually getting rest until, all of the sudden, the door flew open. </p><p>She was sitting up before she could fully process what was going on.</p><p>Oliver was sitting up, as well, wincing a little as his head ached dully, reminded him that despite the fact that he had a hard head, he was still injured. </p><p>“It’s done!” Bart announced a moment later as he sped into the room to stand in front of Oliver, “Vic found them, I picked them up and Zee figured out how to use it! They are gone!”</p><p>Chloe blinked several times and stared at Bart as he spoke. She barely knew him, but she had the feeling he was always extremely energetic. </p><p>Oliver’s eyes widened. “<i>All</i> of them?” </p><p>“All at once, man!” Bart said, “she just did some freaky thing with the crystal.” </p><p>Pursing her lips together, Chloe looked between the two of them then glanced at her cousin when she heard her groaning.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Lois mumbled, sitting up, too, and rubbing her eyes. </p><p>“Oh, crap,” Bart stilled, looking over at Lois then back at Chloe and Oliver with wide eyes, “sorry, man, I didn’t know...” he added quietly.</p><p>“It’s all right, Bart,” Oliver assured him.</p><p>Bart nodded and shifted uncomfortably anyway, “okay, just wanted you to know it’s done.” </p><p>Pursing her lips together, Chloe glanced over at her cousin then back at Oliver, “it’s safe to get out of here now?” She asked quietly.</p><p>Oliver drew in a breath and nodded slightly, glancing over at Lois and then back at Chloe. “We can get going.” </p><p>With a deep breath, Chloe nodded and stood up, chewing on the inside of her mouth as she looked over at Lois. There was one question she wanted to ask Oliver, but not in front of her cousin. “Come on.” </p><p>“I’ll head back, Watchtower is still standing,” Bart told Oliver.</p><p>“I’ll see you there,” he told Bart, glancing at Chloe and holding his breath. </p><p>Lois glanced between them, arching an eyebrow. </p><p>Bart started toward the door then walked slowly through it before vanishing down the hallway. </p><p>“Okay,” Chloe said quietly, picking up her purse and jacket from one of the shelves where she’d left it then looked up at Oliver. “I don’t think we can drive back to Smallville with the way the city is right now.” </p><p>He nodded slightly. “If you’re wanting to go back, Bart or Zatanna can probably give you a ride, or--” </p><p>“Oh, <i>hell</i> no,” Lois interrupted. “I’m not going anywhere with Miss Fishnets.” </p><p>Chloe frowned, confused then back at Oliver, “I guess we better stay anyway, I’m sure there is a lot to be done.”</p><p>Oliver couldn’t help but smirk at Lois’ reaction and then he looked at Chloe again. “We can go to Watchtower. Or if uh--if the clock tower is still standing, you’re both welcome there, too.” </p><p>Nodding slightly, she took a deep breath. “Wherever you think will be better, we can both do research at least?” Not that she could think of anything to research now that they were gone but she wanted to help somehow. </p><p>“I know,” he said softly, meeting her eyes. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s just get out of here.” He moved over to the table where he’d lain his crossbow. </p><p>“Do you think we’ll still need those?” She asked as he picked up his crossbow. </p><p>He shook his head. “No, but it’s...sort of my favorite,” he admitted with a bit of a sheepish smile.</p><p>“Oh,” she smiled a little and nodded, “okay.” </p><p>Oliver slid the crossbow onto his back and headed for the door, holding it open for them. </p><p>Lois stepped through and into the tunnel, glancing back at Chloe.</p><p>“Thanks,” she told Oliver before joining her cousin. At least that part was over. </p><p>* * * </p><p>Oliver glanced at Chloe sideways as they rode the elevator up to the top floor of Watchtower. He could hardly believe the place had been basically untouched. </p><p>“So this is the place,” she said quietly, looking up at him as the elevator took them to the top floor. Lois had decided to go into the Planet to see if she could start working on her article on the alien invasion and Chloe was glad to have the opportunity to talk to Oliver on her own, especially when she knew her cousin would be safe.</p><p>He nodded slightly. “This is the place,” he confirmed quietly. </p><p>Chloe nodded slightly and took a deep breath, “do you know what happened to Clark?”</p><p>Oliver’s jaw tightened just a little. “Unless he found some way of escaping? He’s in his barn.” </p><p>“You don’t think he got taken away with the others?” She asked, arching her eyebrows. </p><p>“Smallville’s pretty far from Metropolis. I think as long as he was still there...” He glanced at her sideways.</p><p>“Right,” she nodded a little, looking down then back at him. “I guess we will need to check.”</p><p>“You’re worried because of Lois?” His voice grew more quiet.</p><p>“Yeah,” she admitted, letting out her breath, “I may not remember much, but I know she has feelings for him.”</p><p>“Yes, she does,” he agreed softly. </p><p>“She didn’t know he was an alien, did she?” She asked as the elevator came to a stop. </p><p>He drew in a breath. “No, she didn’t.” </p><p>“I mentioned it,” she sighed, “I figured if he found us and he was still on the red rock you mentioned, she should know to be safe. She wasn’t happy about it.”</p><p>“About which part?” he asked uncertainly, glancing at her sideways as he stepped off the elevator.</p><p>“I think mostly the fact that he was lying to her.” Chloe said quietly then followed him, eying the glass doors curiously. </p><p>Oliver pursed his lips at that, pushing the doors open silently and letting out a breath. </p><p>She stilled for a moment as she looked inside, eyes widening as she slowly stepped into the room, “wow,” she whispered. The place was huge and would have looked amazing if it wasn’t for everything in it being destroyed. She had counted at least five computers. </p><p>He looked at her sideways again, seeing the surprise on her face. “I’ll replace everything as soon as possible,” he told her quietly.</p><p>“He did all this?” She asked quietly, she had no idea why but her chest was tight. She had the feeling this place meant a lot to her.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said softly, looking down at the floor. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, turning toward him a little more.</p><p>“For what?’ he asked, cocking his head, puzzled. </p><p>“It looks like he did all this because of me,” she said quietly, “and I know you said I didn’t do anything to him, but I’m still sorry it happened to your stuff.” </p><p>Oliver’s chest tightened painfully at her words. “Chloe, it’s just stuff,” he whispered, shaking his head. “It can be replaced.” </p><p>“I know but, I have the feeling that this place means a lot,” she said quietly, looking up at him as she searched his eyes.</p><p>“It does, but probably not for the reasons you think,” he murmured, holding her gaze.</p><p>Cocking her head slightly, she looked up at him, “what do you mean?” </p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “You and I have...shared a lot here,” he admitted softly. </p><p>“Oh,” her eyes widened a little, she was definitely not expecting <i>that</i>. “I guess... that makes sense.”</p><p>“Does it?” he asked gently, searching her eyes.</p><p>“I think?” She whispered, shaking her head. “I’m just going with my gut feeling.”</p><p>He watched her for a moment, nodding, then reaching out to tuck some hair behind her ear silently. </p><p>Her chest tightened and she pursed her lips together as her eyes got big, “I wish I could remember you,” she said quietly. </p><p>He smiled, but it was a sad kind of half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Wordlessly he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, letting his hand fall away from her face. </p><p>She smiled a little and reached for his hand when he dropped it, squeezing it slightly. </p><p>Oliver shut his eyes as he squeezed her hand in return. “I don’t want to give you the wrong impression,” he murmured. “Things were...are...complicated.” </p><p>Chloe swallowed hard then nodded slightly, “you mentioned,” she took a deep breath, “what happened?”</p><p>“What do you remember about Jimmy?” he asked very softly. </p><p>She paused and nodded slightly, “I remember that we broke up,” she said quietly. </p><p>He was quiet for a moment, then he gave her hand a squeeze and tugged her gently toward the sofa across the room. “Let’s sit.” </p><p>With a deep breath, she nodded slightly and pursed her lips together, “okay.” She agreed. </p><p>He guided her over to it and then sat down, reluctantly letting go of her hand and resting his elbows on his knees as he looked at her. </p><p>She cocked her head slightly and pursed her lips together, “you can tell me.” </p><p>“There’s only so much I can,” he confessed softly. “Jimmy died a little over a year ago.” </p><p>Her eyes widened and she sat up, looking at him, “he did?” She gasped quietly, “what happened?”</p><p>Oliver shifted on the sofa, turning his body so he was facing her. “He was murdered,” he said, his voice nearly inaudible. “The man who killed him--he’s dead now, as well. It was very complicated, and you blamed yourself, but it wasn’t your fault.” </p><p>She blinked a few times and looked down then back at him, taking a deep breath, “who was he?”</p><p>“Another fucking alien,” he said, his voice tensing a little. “And he was obsessed with you.” </p><p>“Oh,” she said quietly, blinking a couple of times as her chest tightened, “why did he go after Jimmy?”</p><p>“Jealousy,” he told her, reaching out and laying his hand over hers. “And he was just crazy. It wasn’t your fault.” </p><p>Chloe took a deep breath and nodded slightly, “was I-- seeing him?”</p><p>“You were trying to help him,” he said, shaking his head. </p><p>“But he went after Jimmy instead,” She said quietly, pursing her lips together.</p><p>“Yes,” he said softly.</p><p>“Did Jimmy even know? About anything?” She asked in a whisper. </p><p>“No.” He looked down. “We all thought it was safer for him that way.” </p><p>“Is that why Lois didn’t know anything either?” She asked quietly. </p><p>Oliver drew in a breath, nodding slightly. “Lois knows about me. She just didn’t know about Clark.” </p><p>“Oh,” she blinked a couple of times, “I guess that explains why she referred to you as hero.”</p><p>He tried to smile at that, but didn’t quite manage. “I guess.” </p><p>"Do the others know about Clark too?" She asked quietly. </p><p>Oliver nodded slightly. “Yeah, they know.” </p><p>Chloe nodded and looked down then took a deep breath, "but no one knows about us, do they?"</p><p>He held his breath at that. “No, they don’t,” he confessed softly. </p><p>Pursing her lips together, she glanced over at him. "I saw our texts, on my phone." And if they were anything to go by, things didn't seem so complicated. </p><p>“Oh,” he whispered, nodding a little and looking down. </p><p>"How long has it been?" She asked quietly. </p><p>“Since we started this thing between us?” </p><p>"Yeah," she answered. </p><p>Oliver glanced at her sideways. “A couple months.” </p><p>"Oh, not that long, then." </p><p>He paused, diverting his eyes and looking at the floor. “Only officially.” </p><p>Chloe paused and frowned, cocking her head at that, "what does that mean?"  </p><p>He forced himself to take a deep breath. “A few months ago. You pretty much saved my life. And it wasn’t with a crossbow.” </p><p>"What happened?" She asked in a quiet gasp as she sat up, eyes widening. </p><p>He looked up at her, chewing the inside of his cheek. “I did something last year. Something that was eating away at me a little at a time.” </p><p>Squinting slightly, she stared at him for a moment. She didn't want to upset him, considering everything he had just been through. But she didn't want to not know him.  "What was it?" </p><p>He shut his eyes. “I killed a man,” he admitted almost inaudibly. “Lex Luthor.”</p><p>"You did?" She gasped quietly. She had wondered if the aliens had been the first ones. </p><p>He nodded, exhaling and looking down at his hands. “For a long time, you were the only one who even knew.” </p><p>Chloe looked at him for a long moment in silence, "thank you for telling me.” </p><p>“I’m not finished,” he said softly, glancing over at her. “I was sort of off the rails. I was doing a lot of stupid things.” </p><p>"Oh," she pursed her lips together, "sorry, go on." </p><p>“Driving too fast. Drinking too much. Taking drugs. Having sex with complete strangers.” He paused. “I almost killed myself.” </p><p>"Because of <i>Lex</i>?" She asked in shock. </p><p>“Because taking a man’s life...” He felt his chest tighten. “Wasn’t something as easy to do as I thought it was at the time.” </p><p>Her expression softened and she reached over for his hand. "And you just had to do it again." </p><p>“I’m not sure it’s quite the same thing,” he said softly, sliding his fingers through hers without hesitation. “There was no other option here and they were killing everyone and destroying the city.” </p><p>"I've lost a lot of my memory," she told him, glancing at their hands then back at his face, "and even I remember that Lex was not a good man. Nowhere close to it." </p><p>“No, he wasn’t,” he agreed, meeting her eyes. “But...he was unarmed at the time. And it wasn’t a life or death situation. I acted because I knew where he was, and because I <i>could</i>.” </p><p>"Did he do something in the past that pushed you to do it?" She asked in a whisper, her hand wrapped firmly around his. </p><p>“Nothing that justifies murder, Chloe,” he whispered back. </p><p>She looked down and took a deep breath, "I barely remember you," she said quietly, looking at their hands, "but what my instincts are telling me is to trust you, because you are a good man. I didn’t feel differently when you killed the aliens, I don't feel differently now that you're telling me this." She glanced over at him. </p><p>He held his breath at that, swallowing hard. “I’m very glad to hear that,” he confessed, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing her palm lightly. </p><p>Chloe kept her eyes on him and squeezed his hand, "what happened after?" </p><p>“You,” he said quietly. “You knew how bad off I was. So you staged an intervention of sorts.” A faint smile touched his mouth. </p><p>"An intervention?" She echoed, frowning curiously at the look on his face. </p><p>“Yeah. You arranged for me to nearly die so I’d realize how much I wanted to live.” </p><p>"I <i>what</i>?" She gasped, eyes wide once more.</p><p>He chuckled involuntarily. “I was never in any real danger. You just made me think I was,” he assured her.</p><p>"And it worked?"</p><p>“It was the only thing that did,” he whispered. “That’s how well you know me.” </p><p>Her expression softened once more and she searched his eyes, "glad it worked." </p><p>His thumb brushed over the back of her hand. “It changed everything,” he said softly.</p><p>“Like what?” She asked quietly, watching him closely. </p><p>“How I saw you. How I felt about you--or more made me <i>realize</i> how I felt about you.” </p><p>Chloe held her breath and looked at him for a long moment then nodded slightly, “I-- don’t know what kind of relationship we had before,” she admitted, “but that’s surprising.” </p><p>“Friends,” he said softly, looking down. “We were friends.” </p><p>“Oh,” she nodded slightly, “and then what happened?” </p><p>“I finally got the courage to act,” he admitted. “But you pretty much met me halfway.” </p><p>She smiled a little at that and looked down, nodding, “that makes sense.”</p><p>“It does?” </p><p>Chloe paused and blinked at him, “it doesn’t?” She asked quietly. </p><p>A smile tugged at his mouth and he glanced at her. “I was just wondering what was going through your mind, I guess.” </p><p>“Oh,” she shrugged a little, “I don’t know, I guess I would never consider someone like you would be interested in me like that.” </p><p>Oliver held his breath for a moment. “Someone like me?” He watched her closely, eager to get more insight into how her mind worked. When it came to how she felt, Chloe Sullivan tended to keep her cards close to the vest. </p><p>She gave him a look and shrugged, “you know what I mean.” </p><p>“Actually, I’m not entirely sure,” he said honestly, looking down at their hands.</p><p>“Well,” she breathed, looking down and shrugging again, feeling slightly uncomfortable with telling him this, “you’re a billionaire, you are gorgeous <i>and</i> you are a superhero, Oliver.” </p><p>He lifted his hand to her chin, tilting her head up so she was looking at him. “You’re two out of three of those things yourself, Chloe.” </p><p>She smiled a little at that as she looked at him then shook her head slightly. “It’s just surprising.”</p><p>Oliver leaned his forehead against hers for a moment, closing his eyes. </p><p>Chloe held her breath and leaned closer to him, pursing her lips together. She couldn’t help but feel like she should just wrap her arms around him and move even closer. But she wanted to know why she felt that way first. </p><p>“Am I making you uncomfortable?” he asked quietly. </p><p>“No,” she whispered, “I just-- is there a way to fix it?” ‘</p><p>“You mean your memory?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she said quietly, pulling away from him enough to look at him. </p><p>“I’ve been thinking about that,” he admitted, drawing in a breath. “And we may have a couple of options. We have a couple of friends with some rather...extraordinary abilities. They may be able to help.” </p><p>“Oh,” she  nodded slightly, “ do you think they can do it? Even though it was done by Clark?”</p><p>“Technically it was done by Clark’s father. Sort of. He’s some kind of talking A.I. that lives in an ice cave that Clark calls his Fortress.” </p><p>Chloe blinked several times at that and stared at him, “his... alien father is an A.I. that is here on Earth?”</p><p>He couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Yeah, I know.”  </p><p>She let out her breath, “wow.” she whispered then paused, “do you think we could talk to it? Him. To see if he can help?”</p><p>Oliver winced a little. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” </p><p>“Is he like the others?” She asked, arching her eyebrows. </p><p>“No. He’s pretty much stuck in the ice cave.” </p><p>“Is he trying to destroy us, though?” She asked with a frown. </p><p>“I don’t think so. I think he pretty much only cares about Clark.” </p><p>“Oh,” Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath, “I guess we can try with your friends, then.” </p><p>“They’re your friends, too,” he said softly. “You just don’t remember them.” </p><p>She smiled a little and nodded, “did you tell them what happened?”</p><p>“Not yet,” he said, shaking his head. “But I will.” </p><p>She watched him for a moment then shifted on the couch, “you never did tell me what was so complicated about us.”</p><p>He drew in a breath, looking back at her. “It was supposed to be a friends with benefits arrangement,” he said softly. </p><p>“Oh,” her eyes widened a little as she looked at him, she never imagined she would have one of those, “it was?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he said, nodding a little. </p><p>“And what happened?” She asked quietly. </p><p>“Unrealistic expectations.” He smiled, but it was a sad smile.</p><p>“On whose part?” Chloe frowned, this was making less sense every second. </p><p>“Both, I think,” he admitted softly. “I think we were deceiving ourselves thinking we could keep things just physical and maintain our friendship at the same time.” </p><p>“Oh,” her face fell a little, “did we ruin that? Our friendship, I mean.”</p><p>“No,” he assured her quickly, lifting his hand to her cheek. </p><p>“Are you sure?” She frowned slightly. </p><p>“I’m sure,” he whispered, offering her a small smile. </p><p>She kept her eyes on him then took a deep breath, “so if it wasn’t working, what did we do?”</p><p>“We’d decided to take a break from the uh--physical stuff until we’d dealt with the Kandorians,” he admitted. </p><p>“Oh,” she looked down and pursed her lips together, “and then this happened.” </p><p>“And then this happened,” he echoed softly, nodding.</p><p>“So we were... on some sort of break.” She said, glancing over at him. </p><p>“Yeah.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly.</p><p>“Oh,” she said quietly, taking a deep breath too, “I guess it is complicated.” </p><p>He tried to smile but didn’t quite manage it. </p><p>“And it’s probably better that we work on this whenever I’m back to normal,” she told him.</p><p>He looked down at his hands, nodding silently. </p><p>“Are you okay?” She asked quietly, looking over at him. </p><p>“Yeah. Just tired, I guess.” He rubbed a hand over his face wearily. “I should probably make those calls to J’onn and Zatanna to see if they can help.” </p><p>“Do you want to get some rest first?” She offered, her stomach tight. Now things about her life didn’t seem nearly as appealing before he had told him this last piece of information. </p><p>Oliver glanced at her sideways. “I don’t know,” he admitted.</p><p>Chloe let out a breath and stood up, “maybe you should,” she offered, “I’ll go back to the Planet and see if Lois needs help.”</p><p>He rose to his feet, as well, hesitating a moment. “Yeah, okay.” </p><p>She looked over at him and tried for a smile, “give me a call when you’re ready.” </p><p>Oliver held his breath, nodding. “I will,” he whispered, wondering when that would be. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready considering Chloe without her memories seemed to like him so much more.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was only a couple of hours before she heard from him again. She’d been at the Planet, helping Lois with research when he’d called and asked her to meet him at his place. It had been easy enough to find the Clocktower since it was a known building in Metropolis and she had made it there in just a few minutes. </p><p>He had told her about the fingerprint scan for the elevator so she had used that and once she was on the top floor, she pushed the gate open and stepped inside the apartment quietly, “Oliver?” She called. </p><p>“Come on in.” He emerged from the hallway, looking just as tired as before. “J’onn’s on his way.” </p><p>“Hey,” she greeted, smiling a little at him. “I’m surprised you called so quickly.” </p><p>He couldn’t help but smile back at her, shrugging. “I wouldn’t want to wait for a long time to get my memories back,” he admitted. </p><p>“No, I really don’t want to either,” she said quietly, smiling at him, “thank you for setting it up.” </p><p>“Sure thing,” he said softly, looking down at the floor.</p><p>“You don’t look like you got much rest,” she told him, keeping her eyes on him. </p><p>“There’s too much that needs to be done. I couldn’t sleep.” </p><p>“Yeah,” she agreed, “it looks... really bad out there.” She agreed, “the Planet is already organizing teams to help clean the streets.” </p><p>He nodded. “The others are resting and then we’ll be out there, too.” He hesitated, taking a step toward her. “How are you feeling?” </p><p>“Okay,” she told him, taking a deep breath, “I just want to get this done so I can help more than I am now.”</p><p>Oliver watched her for a moment. “I checked into our other issue.” His voice was quiet. “Clark’s fine. Zatanna’s with him.” </p><p>“Oh,” she held her breath, straightening, “is he okay? Is he back to normal?”</p><p>“If by normal you mean being a complete douchebag, yes,” he said, his jaw tightening a little. </p><p>Chloe blinked a couple of times at that, “Lois mentioned you two don’t get along.” </p><p>“No, especially not now,” he admitted. “I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Or ever.” </p><p>“I guess I can’t blame you,” she said quietly, watching him closely. </p><p>He forced himself to take a deep breath. “I’m just very pissed off at him right now,” he admitted.</p><p>“I know,” she held her breath, “and something tells me I would feel the same way if our situations were reversed.”</p><p>He pursed his lips, starting to say something else when the elevator gate opened and J’onn stepped out. He shut his eyes for a moment, resting his hands at his sides. “Chloe, this is J’onn Jones.” </p><p>She kept her eyes on Oliver for a moment longer then turned to the other man and smiled a little, “hi,” she greeted. </p><p>“Hi,” J’onn greeted her back warmly, offering her a smile. “Oliver mentioned you had a little bit of a memory problem because of Kal-El.” </p><p>“Right,” she agreed, arching her eyebrows, “is Kal-El Clark’s dad?” She asked, glancing at Oliver. </p><p>“It’s Clark’s Kryptonian name,” J’onn explained.</p><p>“Oh,” she held her breath, “okay. yeah, hm Oliver mentioned his dad might have done something to me to alter my memory.” </p><p>Oliver pursed his lips. </p><p>J’onn nodded slightly, moving closer to her and lifting a hand, gently touching her temple and concentrating for a moment. “Ah. Yes,” he murmured. “I think I can help.” </p><p>“Okay,” she said quietly, “what should I do?”</p><p>He gave her a gentle smile. “Just try to relax. I’ll do the heavy lifting,” he assured her.</p><p>Pursing her lips together, she glanced at Oliver then took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she turned back to J’onn.</p><p>“Wait!” Oliver said suddenly, his throat tightening. </p><p>Chloe blinked a couple of times, eyes wide as she turned to look at Oliver again, “what’s wrong?”</p><p>He moved over to her, his heart pounding against his chest as he reached out, resting his hands on her cheeks and kissed her urgently. </p><p>J’onn ducked his head, smiling a little bit. </p><p>She stilled completely, her eyes still wide for a moment before she realized what was happening and closed them, even as she lifted her hands to his arms as she kissed him back.</p><p>He broke the kiss a moment later, swallowing hard. “I love you,” he whispered against her ear.</p><p>Chloe swallowed hard as she turned her head to look at him, her eyes tearing up slightly as she looked at him. She had no clue if they had told each other that yet, and even though she felt like she loved him too, she didn’t want to say the words when she wasn’t completely herself.</p><p>“Just remember that for me,” he murmured, stepping away.</p><p>She blinked a couple of times and nodded slightly, staring at him for a moment longer then looking back at J’onn, “okay,” she said quietly, “I’m ready.”</p><p>J’onn nodded, as well, stepping up to her once more and lifting his hand to her temple. “Try to relax.” </p><p>With another deep breath, she nodded a little and stared up at the man, she had a million questions running through her head, but she just wanted to get it done.</p><p>He concentrated, searching her eyes as he worked to unlock the corner of her mind where her memories were hidden. Then he dropped his hand away.</p><p>Chloe felt like something had just sped through her brain as the memories rushed back to her. She lifted her hands to her temple and closed her eyes tightly as she held her head.</p><p>“Are you okay?” Oliver asked anxiously.</p><p>J’onn looked at Oliver and nodded a little, taking a step back. </p><p>She blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath then nodded slightly, “yeah,” she whispered, lifting her head and looking at J’onn, “thank you.”</p><p>“You’re welcome,” he told her sincerely. </p><p>After a second’s hesitation, she looked back at Oliver, “is it really over?”</p><p>He held his breath, not trusting his voice as he nodded silently.</p><p>Her chest tightened and she nodded too, taking a deep breath and looking down. </p><p>“If you’re feeling alright, Chloe, I should get back to the station, we’ve been busy.” J’onn said quietly. </p><p>“Of course,” she nodded, turning to look at him again. “Thank you,” she repeated and watched as the man disappeared.</p><p>Oliver swallowed hard, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck and dropping his gaze.</p><p>Chloe wrapped her arms around herself and slowly turned toward him, “thank you for taking care of me.” She whispered.</p><p>His chest tightened a little. “You would have done the same for me.” </p><p>“Yeah,” she said quietly, looking down then back at him, her own chest tight. Part of her just wanted to leave, but she knew she couldn’t.</p><p>He held his breath for a moment. “Are you all right?” </p><p>“Yeah,” Chloe said quietly, “it seems to have worked.”</p><p>“Good. That’s good.” </p><p>Pursing her lips together, she looked up at him, “are you?”</p><p>“I’m all right,” he said softly. </p><p>“You’ve been through a lot,” she looked down, pursing her lips together, “with Zod and Alia and... me.” She added the last part guiltily.</p><p>He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, moving over closer to her. “We’ve both been through a lot.” </p><p>She held her breath and lifted her head to look at him again, “I will go after him about this,” she promised, jaw tightening.</p><p>“May I come along, just in case you need backup?” His chest was tight. </p><p>“Do you really think that would be a good idea?” She asked quietly.</p><p>“Yes,” he said just as quietly.</p><p>“What happened?” She asked, straightening a little. “When you went after him.” Talking about Clark and focusing on being angry with him was much easier than dealing with everything else.</p><p>“I dosed him with the green kind,” he told her. “And tied him up in the barn.” </p><p>She let out a breath and nodded a little, “I’m glad you did.” Otherwise, things could have been much worse and Clark would be gone too.</p><p>Oliver chewed the inside of his cheek, nodding a little. </p><p>“You should get some real rest,” she whispered, keeping her eyes on him.</p><p>“I’d rather come with you,” he admitted, looking down. “But if you don’t want me to, I understand.” </p><p>She pursed her lips together, “I will wait,” she promised then took a deep breath, “you look terrible, you need to rest.”</p><p>A faint smile touched his mouth. “Thanks, Gorgeous,” he teased softly.</p><p>The hint of a smile appeared on her lips too and she shook her head, “I’ll check in with Lois and get back to the Watchtower, see what I can do with what is left.”</p><p>He was quiet for a moment. “Do you uh--do you remember what I said, right before J’onn restored your memories?” </p><p>Her chest clenched instantly and she looked away, “Oliver,” she said quietly. It would have been easier to lie and say she didn’t, but she couldn't bring herself to.</p><p>“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to make sure you remembered.” He looked away, too.</p><p>She took a deep breath and looked at him again, “rest,” she said quietly, “we will-- talk about everything later.”</p><p>“All right. Thank you for...stitching up my head,” he said quietly. “And saving my ass. Again.” </p><p>“Ditto,” she said quietly, watching him closely, “at least for the second part.”</p><p>Oliver met her eyes, nodding a little. “Anytime.” </p><p>“I know,” she said quietly, “and-- drink some water and eat something, you did lose a lot of blood.”</p><p>“Yes, Ma’am,” he said lightly.</p><p>Chloe smiled slightly then nodded, “I’ll see you later,” she told him before turning back to the elevator, her chest painfully tight.</p><p>“Chloe, wait.” He swallowed hard.</p><p>She closed her eyes and held her breath, letting it out slowly before turning to look at him over her shoulder. He moved over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She stilled for a moment then closed her eyes once more, wrapping her arms around him too and closing her eyes tightly.</p><p>He shut his eyes, as well, relaxing when she hugged him back, and burying his face in her hair, exhaling slowly. Chloe held him to her, turning her head against his shoulder as she tried her best to control her emotions.</p><p>Oliver rubbed her back gently, leaning his head against hers.  She kept her eyes closed and turned her head, pressing her nose against his cheek.</p><p>He held his breath for a moment, then turned his head and kissed her forehead tenderly. “See you soon?” </p><p>She held her breath and hesitated for a second before kissing his cheek and pulling back, her chest still tight, “rest,” she said again with a nod then pulled away from him completely.</p><p>He swallowed hard, nodding a little, as well. “I will.” </p><p>* * * </p><p>Several hours later, Oliver made his way into Watchtower, exhaling slowly as he rode the elevator to the top floor, raking a hand through his still-damp hair. He’d managed to get in a couple hours of fitful sleep before waking and making some calls, showering and grabbing some bags of food before going to see Chloe. He carried in two bags of Chinese food as he opened the double doors, glancing around. “Chloe?” </p><p>Chloe stilled when she heard him, she’d been trying to make Watchtower at least somewhat functional all day and there was still a lot of work to do. She was standing behind the main desk, with one of the computers opened in front of her as she pulled the hard drive from the destroyed case. “Hey,” she greeted as she took a deep breath and turned toward him. </p><p>“Hey,” he said back, lifting the bags of food up a little. “I brought Chinese.” </p><p>“Oh,” she dropped the pieces on the desk and arched her eyebrows, “thank you.” </p><p>Oliver nodded a little. “Fortunately one of the places that they didn’t destroy.” He smiled a bit and set the bags down on the desk, letting out a breath. “How’s it going?” </p><p>“Slow,” she sighed softly, “just trying to back up everything and reconnecting through the stations that weren’t damaged so Watchtower can be up again as soon as possible.” </p><p>He watched her for a moment. “Well, I made some calls. We’ll have new equipment by morning,” he told her. “And Victor will be here to help set it all up.” </p><p>“Thank you,” she told him, nodding slightly, “it will be easier to get it done with his help.” </p><p>He nodded, as well, glancing around, his gaze focusing on the large scorched mark in the shape of Clark’s family crest. “Jackass,” he muttered.</p><p>Chloe let out a breath, “I started cleaning it, but that will be a while too.” </p><p>“I vote we drag his ass back here and make <i>him</i> clean it. It’s his mess.” </p><p>“I don’t want him here,” she said, her jaw clenching a little.</p><p>He turned to look at her, studying her for a moment. “We can ban him if you want. Wouldn’t be hard.” </p><p>“I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” she told him then took a deep breath as she reached to open the bag he’d brought, “he hasn’t shown up here or at the Planet yet.” </p><p>“Zatanna’s still babysitting to make sure he doesn’t get out of hand,” he informed her. </p><p>“Oh,” she let out a breath, “I guess that’s good.” </p><p>He nodded a little. “So we’re good for now.” </p><p>She opened one of the boxes then handed it over to him since she knew it was what he usually got for himself, “I can’t believe I told Lois everything.” </p><p>“She deserved to know, Chloe. She’s deserved to know for a long time.” And if Clark tried to give her a hard time about it, Oliver fully intended to punch the alien in his face with the ring he wore with its tiny green rock embedded in it.</p><p>“I know. But she should have heard it from him.” She said quietly, looking up at Oliver. </p><p>“She should have,” he agreed, nodding, and taking a step toward her. “It’s his fault that she didn’t.” </p><p>“I know,” Chloe agreed, opening the other box, “should be interesting when she talks to him again.” </p><p>He smirked at that, raising his eyebrows. “We could always drop a tiny microphone somewhere.” </p><p>“Well, we just have to make sure Watchtower is up and running by the time it happens,” she said, smiling a little. </p><p>He grinned, nodding. “Most definitely.” He reached out and picked up one of the containers of food, pulling off the lid. </p><p>“How are you feeling?” She asked quietly. his mood definitely seemed to be better.</p><p>“Better. Getting some sleep seemed to help,” he confessed. </p><p>“Good,” she smiled a little, opening her own container then starting over to the couch that had remained unharmed. </p><p>Oliver held his breath for a moment, then slowly crossed the room to sit down beside her. </p><p>She held her breath and looked down at her food then glanced over at him once more as he sat down. </p><p>He glanced over at her, as well, meeting her gaze. “Hi,” he said very softly.</p><p>Chloe held her breath and looked up at him for a moment, “hi,” she said quietly, looking at him then down at her food.</p><p>Oliver swallowed hard, dropping his gaze, too. </p><p>Her chest tightened and she looked down then took a deep breath, “I’m not sure what to do with all this.” </p><p>“I’m not either,” he admitted. </p><p>“We’ll need to figure this out,” she whispered, glancing at him again. </p><p>His chest tightened painfully, but he was afraid to look at her. “I know.” </p><p>She hesitated then set her food down on the coffee table, “I know I messed things up with the auction.” </p><p>“I’m not upset about the auction,” he whispered. </p><p>“What are you upset about?” She asked quietly.</p><p>Oliver shook his head, finally turning to look at her. “I’m not upset at all,” he said quietly. “The last few days kind of put everything into perspective.” </p><p>Chloe frowned slightly at that and cocked her head, “what do you mean?”</p><p>He drew in his breath and let it out slowly, setting his food down next to hers on the table. “I mean, I know what I want,” he said softly. “We both almost died out there, Chloe. And considering what we do...what are the chances that either of us are going to live long healthy lives?” He shook his head.</p><p>Her chest tightened and she blinked a couple of times, nodding slightly, “I know,” she said quietly, glad that she had trusted her instincts then and had gone after him, even if she had no clue what she was doing, “but what if we screw everything up before anything else happens?” </p><p>“What if we don’t?” he asked just as quietly. “What if we walk away instead, and something happens to one of us and the other is left with nothing but regrets?” </p><p>Her face crumbled slightly as she looked up at him once more, “yeah...” she whispered. </p><p>Oliver reached out, touching her cheek. “Life is so short,” he whispered. “I don’t want to waste time.” </p><p>She leaned into his touch and swallowed hard, “I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.” </p><p>“Then don’t,” he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers. </p><p>Chloe held his gaze, her eyes tearing up slightly as she lifted a hand to his cheek and brushed her thumb over it gently, “I’m so sorry.” </p><p>His chest tightened a little. “Why are you apologizing?” he asked uncertainly.</p><p>“For pushing you away the way I have,” she wrapped her free arm around him, “it’s not what I want, it’s just-- everything else scares me.” </p><p>He relaxed a little at that, sliding his arm around her, as well. “I know,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. </p><p>Chloe closed her eyes and turned her head, kissing his cheek softly. She knew it had been almost too late for this and with everything she had done, the least she could do for him was to be honest.</p><p>He pulled her closer til she was nearly in his lap, his other arm winding around her, too. “You’ve got me,” he murmured. “For as long as you want me.” </p><p>Her face fell and she shifted, climbing onto his lap and sitting sideways over it as she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, not trusting herself to speak.  Oliver turned his head and kissed her softly on the mouth, one hand lifting to tangle in her hair. </p><p>Chloe leaned even closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply a moment later as she pulled him closer.  He returned the kiss without hesitation, brushing his nose against hers, then pressing tender kisses along her jaw up to her ear. “It doesn’t have to be so scary,” he murmured. </p><p>She shivered slightly and held her breath, “but it is,” she whispered, pulling away to look at him. </p><p>Oliver met her eyes, lifting his hand to her cheek once more. “What if we work through that fear together?” </p><p>Her face softened at that and she nodded, “I guess we will have to.” She whispered, brushing her nose against his. </p><p>“I’ll never intentionally hurt you,” he promised softly, kissing the corner of her mouth.</p><p>“I know,” she whispered quietly, kissing him back then pulling back slightly once more, her chest painfully tight, “it wouldn’t be so scary if I didn’t love you too,” she whispered. </p><p>Oliver held his breath at that, searching her eyes. “Oh,” he whispered.</p><p>Chloe pursed her lips together and watched him closely, her heart beating fast against her chest. </p><p>He smiled softly at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Glad I’m not alone in this,” he told her. </p><p>Her face softened and she shook her head, “you really thought you were didn’t you?”</p><p>“I wasn’t sure,” he admitted. </p><p>“You weren’t,” she whispered, “not for a while.”</p><p>He leaned his forehead against hers, lifting his hand to her cheek. </p><p>She watched him for a long moment then kissed him softly before pulling back, “I really am sorry, Ollie.”</p><p>He gazed at her intently, searching her eyes. “It’s all right,” he whispered. </p><p>Chloe reached for his cheek and brushed her fingers over it, “then I’m luckier than I thought.”</p><p>Oliver simply smiled.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Oliver glanced at her sideways as he pulled the car into the driveway. “Sure you’re ready for this?” he asked quietly. </p><p>“No,” she said quietly then shook her head a little, “but it’s better to get it over with, right?”</p><p>“Probably,” he said, nodding as he shut the car off. </p><p>Choe got out of the car and took a deep breath as she stared at the farmhouse then back at Oliver. “Is she still here?”</p><p>He nodded slightly. “Just in case.” </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed quietly and walked around the car but waited for him before heading toward the house.</p><p>Oliver reached out and took her hand in his, sliding his fingers through hers and giving her hand a squeeze. </p><p>She squeezed his hand back and looked down at it then at him, “come on,” she whispered then started toward the house.</p><p>Nodding, he gripped her hand as they walked up the front porch steps and his jaw tightened involuntarily. </p><p>Chloe hesitated then knocked on the door before opening it with her free hand, but didn’t call out for him, she knew he’d know they were there already.</p><p>He followed her inside, glancing around and tensing when he spotted Clark sitting on the sofa, a sour look on his face. <i>So it’s a normal day in Smallville</i>. </p><p>“Clark?” Chloe called, glancing up at Ollie then back at him.</p><p>Clark’s jaw tightened but he didn’t look at them, “I’d rather if you didn’t come into my house, Oliver.”</p><p>“I’d rather you not be on the planet, but we can’t always get what we want,” he responded without missing a beat.</p><p>Chloe winced a little at that and squeezed Oliver’s hand, “we won’t be long.” She told Clark, “but I know you remember what you did to me, I figured you owed me at least an explanation.”</p><p>Clark looked at her, glaring at Oliver for a second, then looking back at Chloe. “I wasn’t myself. Zod dosed me with Red K.” </p><p>“I know you had red K in your system,” she stepped forward, reluctantly letting go of Oliver’s hand, “but we both know that the ‘wasn’t yourself’ part is a <i>lie</i>.” She said sharply but calmly.</p><p>He immediately diverted his gaze. “That’s what happened.” </p><p>“I didn’t expect an apology,” she told him, “but you obviously don’t trust me, or us, really. Infact, you trust us so little, you rather pick a race that is trying to destroy the planet you have called home your entire life over us.”</p><p>Clark looked at her once more. “You haven’t exactly given me a lot of reasons to trust you lately,” he responded evenly, glancing at Oliver. “Him even less.” </p><p>“He has done what he had to,” she said tightly, “but I have done <i>nothing</i> but protect you for <i>years</i>, Clark.” Her jaw clenched, “I have dropped my entire life to help <i>you</i> more times than I can count! And while I don’t regret any of that, I want you to know I’m done.”</p><p>At that, he paused. “What do you mean?” </p><p>“You’re on your own.” She said plainly. “it seems to be what you’ve wanted all along anyway.”</p><p>“That’s not true,” he told her, shaking his head and taking a step toward her. </p><p>“Don’t come <i>any</i> closer,” Oliver warned, his eyes narrowing. </p><p>She didn’t move, just stared up at Clark, “with the team, with what we do, we <i>have</i> to be able to trust each other one hundred percent,” she said coolly, “you can’t put your trust on us, then we can’t trust you.”</p><p>“How am I supposed to trust a guy who stabs me in the back any chance he gets?” Clark demanded, shaking his head. “Or someone who runs off with a <i>serial killer</i> instead of letting me handle things?” </p><p>“See, that’s what she’s talking about,” Oliver interrupted. “You can’t take <i>everything</i> on yourself, Clark. We’re not just your little lapdogs. We’re capable of making decisions, and yeah, occasionally we make mistakes. That’s what happens when you’re <i>human</i>.” </p><p>She actually glanced at Oliver at that and nodded slightly then back at him, “it has to be both ways, and that is more than you just showing up when the world is ending, we’re a <i>team</i> and we have tried to include you. It’s clear now why you never bothered.”</p><p>“When did you start taking his side on everything?” Clark demanded, shaking his head. </p><p>Chloe blinked a couple of times at that and just stared at that, “I’m not taking <i>anyone’s</i> side,” she told him, “but considering what you did to me and <i>your</i> people did to our country and possibly planet, I’m glad he stopped you when he did.” </p><p>His jaw tightened involuntarily and he flicked a glance to Oliver. “I think it’s time for both of you to go now. And take Zatanna with you. I don’t need a babysitter.” </p><p>She stared at Clark for a long moment then shook her head, “this is the problem, Clark. Unless we are doing what <i>you</i> think is right, there is no dialogue.” She told him then turned to Oliver, “let’s just go.”</p><p>He held his hand out to her wordlessly, nodding. </p><p>Chloe took his hand and took a deep breath then looked over at Clark again, “and by the way,” she added, jaw tight, “don’t <i>ever</i> make me forget my life again. I think you’ve done that enough times already.” </p><p>He narrowed his eyes at her, then looked at Oliver accusingly, stormy expression on his face. </p><p>Oliver squeezed Chloe’s hand, meeting Clark’s gaze with a steady one of his own. “Don’t come to Watchtower. It won’t be good for your health,” he informed him.</p><p>Chloe squeezed his hand then tugged on it lightly, heading to the door, “do you think Zatanna wants a ride back?”</p><p>He turned, following her. “I don’t know. Hey, Zee!” he called. </p><p>She appeared in front of them a moment later, smirking. “You rang?” </p><p>Chloe blinked a couple of times then smiled a little at the other woman, “we’re driving back, we were wondering if you wanted to come along, but I guess you don’t need that.”</p><p>Zatanna winked at Chloe. “Not so much. But thanks for offering anyway.” </p><p>“No problem,” she glanced back at the living room. “thank you for this.”</p><p>She nodded. “Anytime.” She lifted her hand in a wave and vanished.</p><p>Nodding slightly, Chloe looked back at Oliver then headed toward the car with him, ready to get as far away from there as possible.</p><p>Oliver glanced at her, as well, leading her toward the passenger seat. “You all right?” His voice was soft. </p><p>“Yeah,” she looked up at him, “it was easier than I thought.” She admitted. </p><p>He lifted his free hand to her cheek, leaning in and kissing her softly on the mouth. “Come on,” he whispered. </p><p>She kissed him once more and looked at him for a moment then took a deep breath and ducked into the car. </p><p>He smiled, then headed to the driver’s side of the car, glancing over his shoulder toward the house and shaking his head a little before climbing in.</p><p>“Are <i>you</i> okay?” She asked as he started to pull out of the farm. </p><p>“I’m fine,” he assured her, glancing at her sideways. “Clark and I have never really been what I’d call friends.” </p><p>“I know,” she said quietly, “but I also know you were holding back quite a bit.”</p><p>“That’s because you know me,” he said just as quietly, reaching out and sliding the fingers of his right hand through the fingers of her left one. “Truthfully I would’ve been okay with him being sucked into the other dimension with his Kandorian pals.” </p><p>“I know,” she squeezed his hand gently, “but it’s better this way.” </p><p>He raised his eyebrows a little at that. “Is it?” </p><p>“If that had happened, I would feel like we had to try and bring him back,” she admitted, “mostly for Lois’ and Mrs. Kent’s sakes.” </p><p>He sighed softly, glancing at her sideways. “Yeah, I guess so,” he agreed. </p><p>“At least now not much will change.” She murmured. </p><p>“Oh, I don’t know, Chloe. I think a lot’s changed already.” </p><p>“It has?” She cocked her head, wondering if there was something she was missing still.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at his mouth. “You don’t think so?” </p><p>“Oh,” she smiled a little, “I was referring to work.” </p><p>“<i>Oh.</i>” He grinned sheepishly. “I thought you were talking about in general.” </p><p>“No,” she squeezed his hand, “even I realize <i>this</i> has changed, Ollie.” </p><p>He glanced at her sideways. “This does mean we don’t have to hide anymore, right?” </p><p>She paused at that and arched her eyebrows, “I guess not?”</p><p>“So it’s okay if the others know...” </p><p>“I’m pretty sure Lois suspects it already,” she admitted, looking up at him. </p><p>“So does Victor,” he admitted with a small smile. </p><p>“Oh?” She arched her eyebrows, surprised. “Did he say something?”</p><p>“Nothing specific. He just gives me this <i>look</i> whenever I say your name.” </p><p>“Oh,” she smiled a little, “a knowing look, I assume?”</p><p>He chuckled lightly. “That would be the one,” he admitted, nodding. </p><p>“Yeah, that’s kind of what I got from Lois,” she grinned softly, squeezing his hand.</p><p>“Maybe we’re not quite as slick as we thought.” </p><p>“No, I guess we’re not,” she said quietly, watching him closely.</p><p>He grinned a little at her as he glanced at her sideways. “Oh well.” </p><p>“Why do you want them to know so badly?” She asked curiously, pursing her lips together.</p><p>“Well, for one, maybe Bart will stop flirting with you.” </p><p>Chloe arched her eyebrows and watched him closely as she cocked her head, “you’re not-- jealous of Bart, are you?” She asked, trying to stop the smirk from appearing on her lips. </p><p>He frowned at the hint of amusement he heard in her voice, and looked at her sideways. “<i>No</i>. But <i>still</i>.” </p><p>“You are,” she said, amused and shook her head, “Oliver Queen is jealous of <i>Impulse</i>,” she teased, tugging on his hand. </p><p>He rolled his eyes, shaking his head a little, his hand tightening around hers slightly. “Well, so we both have jealousy issues.” </p><p>Chloe paused at that and looked away, “yeah well, at least I have reason for it.” </p><p>“No. You really don’t,” he said seriously, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. “At all.” </p><p>Her face softened as she turned to look at him again, squeezing his hand as she smiled a little. </p><p>He met her eyes and smiled softly. “I love you.” </p><p>Holding her breath, her chest tightened a little, it would still take some getting used to hearing that, “I love you too,” she said quietly. </p><p>His smile brightened at that and he turned his gaze to focus on the road ahead. </p><p>She couldn’t help but smile too at the look on his face as she linked her fingers with his once more and relaxed against her seat.</p>
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